Matildas shift to spark huge home crowds

Football bosses hope the Matildas’ first competitive games in Sydney since the 2000 Olympics will spark strong crowds across Sydney.

The Matildas are looking forward to playing on home soil for a change

Football bosses hope the Matil­das’ first competitive games in Sydney since the 2000 Olympics will draw strong crowds across the city, despite having a just a few days to organise the games and promote them.

Racing to arrange an Olympic qualifying tournament after the games were switched away from coronavirus-struck China, Football Federation Australia is expected on Wednesday to announce which venues will host six fixtures next week.

Though final negotiations were ongoing late on Tuesday, it’s believed Australia are likely to play Chinese Taipei and Thailand at Jubilee Oval on February 3 and 6 respectively, and then China at Bankwest Stadium on February 9.

Each game will be part of a double-header involving the other teams, with the top two teams at the end going into play-offs to secure a place at the Olympics in Tokyo.

FFA chief executive James Johnson said the challenge of organising six games in a week had left his staff “burning”, though the Matildas themselves will benefit hugely from playing their qualifiers on home soil — the first since similar games in 2007.

“There was a challenge for the team — they were upset and nervous at the prospect of going to China,” Johnson said.

“Our sole objective initially was to ensure they could focus on the football and we could provide a healthy, stress-free environment. The next point was, where is the tournament going to go?

“Now this is a great opportunity for the girls to play in front of a home crowd and really start building a buzz around the team.

“I remember a quote by Winston Churchill: ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste.’

“We’d like to fill the stadiums, though there are some challenges as we don’t have a lot of time to promote the games.

“I can promise the FFA staff are burning in terms of the work they’re doing.”

The Daily Telegraph