FIFA Women’s World Cup home for Matildas revealed

Teams have selected their base camp locations for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Australia’s choice has raised eyebrows.

The Matildas have rejected their $115m base in Victoria to instead call Brisbane home during next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

For the first time in the tournament’s history, competing nations will use dedicated team

base camps that will include a training site and accommodation.

Co-hosts Australia have chosen the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan and will stay at Rydges Hotel at Southbank.

That’s despite the “home of the Matildas” – co-founded by the Victorian and federal governments – at La Trobe University in Bundoora set to be completed a few months before the tournament.

“With a high-level gym, on-pitch training facilities and excellent recovery solutions off the pitch, QSAC provides an optimum performance environment for our FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 preparations prior to and during the tournament,” Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson said.

Football Australia chief executive officer James Johnson said ensuring the Matildas had the best possible World Cup preparation was the priority in explaining the decision to base the team in Brisbane rather than Bundoora.

Coach Tony Gustavsson and the Matildas will be based in Brisbane during next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

“We had to put the high performance of the team first, and ensure the coaches, the players and our high performance director go through a process where they tell us what’s in the best high performance interests of the team,” proud Queenslander Johnson said.

“And with the schedule that was announced by FIFA, there was really no better option than to be in Brisbane, so that’s the reason why we’re here.

“We had to talk through our process with other states because it’s important that all states support the Matildas, which they have done.

“The Victorian government have been fantastic with the investment into the home of the Matildas. They understand though that what was important is to put the high performance of the team as our first priority because we’re in it to win it, and we think that being based here will help the team.”

The Bundoora complex will instead be the base of Group F team Jamaica.

However, the Matildas – who will play a World Cup warm-up match at Marcel Stadium on July 14 against a yet-to-be-announced current world top-10 ranked nation – will also spend time at Bundoora before moving to Brisbane in the build-up to the July 20-August 20 tournament.

Veteran Matildas defender and Queenslander Clare Polkinghorne was “proud” the Australians had chosen Brisbane as their base.

“It speaks volumes of the environment and the facilities that the QAS (Queensland Academy of Sport), and QSAC have,” Polkinghorne said.

“The team was here not long ago, and the gym, the recovery centre, the quality of the pitches – everything’s here in the one spot.

“There’s also a good vibe in the city, so it gives the players a bit of comfort away from the training pitch as well. A lot of things are a lot easier.”

.@TheMatildas will set up a home base at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Minister @StirlHinchliffe is speaking. https://t.co/N8dreLTFpp

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) December 12, 2022

In Australia, there are so far 14 team base camps for the 14 qualified teams that will play group matches in Australia.

The Matildas’ Group B opponents Ireland and Nigeria will also be based in Brisbane, while Group F nation Brazil will base themselves just outside Brisbane in the Moreton Bay region.

Three nations – France, Colombia and South Korea – will be based in Sydney, while the camps of Germany and England are on NSW’s Central Coast.

Australia’s other Group B opponent Canada will use Melbourne as a base, as will Morocco.

Denmark’s base is Perth, while China will stay in Adelaide.

Three more nations will qualify in February for the July 20-August 20 tournament, with two of them to also base themselves in Australia.

Co-hosts New Zealand will base themselves in New Zealand, as will 15 other nations, including the other of February’s qualifiers.

Apart from the team base camps, there will also be team hotels and training sites aligned to the 10 match venues that will mainly be used the day before matches.

The tournament’s referees will be based in Sydney.

Matildas captain Sam Kerr and Gustavsson talk tactics ahead of next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup training sites:

Group A: New Zealand (Keith Hay Park, Auckland); Norway (Seddon Fields, Auckland); Philippines (Olympic Park, Auckland); Switzerland (Tahuna Park, Dunedin).

Group B: Australia (Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre, Brisbane); Ireland (Goodwin Park, Brisbane); Nigeria (Lions FC Stadium, Brisbane); Canada (Olympic Park, Melbourne).

Group C: Spain (Massey Sport Institute, Palmerston North); Costa Rica (Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, Christchurch); Zambia (Korikori Park, Hamilton); Japan (Christchurch Stadium; Christchurch).

Group D: England (Central Coast Stadium, Central Coast); February qualifier (TBC); Denmark (Kingsway Reserve. Perth); China (Croatian Sports Centre, Adelaide).

Group E: USA (Bay City Park, Auckland); Vietnam (Fred Taylor Park, Auckland); Netherlands (Bay Oval, Tauranga); February qualifier (TBC).

Group F: France (Valentine Sports Park, Sydney); Jamaica (Victorian State Football Centre. Melbourne); Brazil (Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex, Moreton Bay); February qualifier (TBC).

Group G: Sweden (NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport, Wellington); South Africa

(Porirua Park, Wellington); Italy (Shepherds Park, Auckland); Argentina (Michaels Ave Reserve, Auckland).

Group H: Germany (Central Coast Regional Sporting and Recreation Complex, Central Coast); Morocco (Galvin Park Reserve, Melbourne); Colombia (Marconi Stadium, Sydney); South Korea (Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney).