Townsville stadium excluded from Australia’s 2034 Men’s Football World Cup bid unless it’s upgraded

Townsville’s stadium would be left out of a potential Australian bid for the 2034 Men’s Football World Cup unless it’s upgraded, sparking calls for its capacity to be increased as part of the 2032 Olympics.

A general view of Qld Country Bank Stadium, Townsville. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

TOWNSVILLE’S stadium would be excluded from a potential Australian bid for the 2034 Men’s Football World Cup unless it is upgraded, sparking calls for its capacity to be boosted as part of the Brisbane Olympics.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson and NRL executive Jaymes Boland-Rudder joined calls for high-performance training facilities to be built or existing facilities to be upgraded for the Olympic Games, to be used by their sports as part of the 2032 Olympic legacy.

Mr Johnson said Townsville Stadium was currently set to host soccer games as part of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

But he said it would have to be excluded from Football Australia’s bid for the 2034 World Cup, which requires 40,000 seat stadiums for group stage matches, while Townsville has just 25,000 seats.

Queensland Country Bank Stadium. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

“Queensland would also be the perfect place for a high-performance training venue for the 2034 World Cup,” Mr Johnson said.

“Queensland is the only state that doesn’t have a high-performance training venue.”

He said this would involve high-quality pitches, gyms and places for physiotherapists to work.

Mr Johnson did not make reference to the Cowboys’ High Performance Centre, which was opened in 2021 next to Queensland Country Bank Stadium and has already housed world-class visiting teams like the Matildas and Queensland Reds.

Townsville’s high-performance centre features a state-of-the-art altitude training room, full size indoor basketball court which converts to a training field with synthetic grass, gym and rehabilitation space, physiotherapy and massage centres, sauna and recovery pools.

Cowboys chief executive officer Jeff Reibel said he looked forward to discussions about how their $35 million training centre could potentially be used by 2034 World Cup teams.

“The Hutchinson Builders Centre was built in Townsville for not only the Cowboys but also to ensure that we can attract high performance sports and athletes,” Mr Reibel said.

“We’d certainly be up for that conversation.”

Mr Boland-Rudder said high-performance training facilities would be valuable for NRL teams like the Dolphins or Gold Coast Titans.

“The Dolphins’ current facilities, we would say, aren’t up to standard within the NRL competition, let alone for a visiting team,” he said.

Mr Boland-Rudder said if the state and federal governments were to invest in these facilities, they could be used by the NRL on the understanding that visiting nations and teams would be granted access in the lead up to and during the Olympics.

He reiterated the NRL’s previous calls for Suncorp Stadium to be upgraded before 2032, suggesting works on connectivity, LED signage, hospitality and seats.

Originally published as Townsville stadium excluded from Australia’s 2034 Men’s Football World Cup bid unless it’s upgraded