State government fails to bid for Victorian Matildas matches

An embarrassing government own goal means Victoria won’t host a single Matildas match at Australia’s 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.

Victoria will not see a single Matildas match of the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup because the state government did not bid to bring games to Australia’s sporting capital.

Football Australia on Monday announced NSW, Queensland and Western Australia would be host states of the major event expected to be confirmed as coming Down Under next month. Australia was the sole bidder.

With taxpayers bankrolling a $60m “Home of the Matildas” in Melbourne and sellout crowds flocking to see the national team play, it looked as though the governing body had snubbed Victoria.

But the state government confirmed it had not entered the race to host matches of an event expected to pour $260m into the national economy and create more than 1000 jobs.

NSW, Queensland and WA will be host states of the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup. Picture: Getty

It sidestepped questions about why not one match of a major tournament would be played in Victoria.

“Victoria has a packed calendar of major events, and welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors to our state over the summer months for events including the epic Australian Open, the Boxing Day Test … and many others,” it said.

Yarra Jets Soccer Club president Krystal Gregory said that given the explosion of ­female participation in football it was “probably a missed opportunity”.

“Victoria does have the ‘Home of the Matildas out of La Trobe (University), there is absolutely an opportunity there that perhaps slipped through our fingers,’’ she said.

The lack of Matildas games in Melbourne has been labelled a ‘missed opportunity’. Picture: Getty

“Victoria does pride itself on being quite the sporting event capital, Melbourne in particular, so it is a bit disheartening.”

Melbourne scored only one Matildas match at last year’s incredible FIFA Women’s World Cup.

It is believed the government decided against competing for Asian Cup games because it is likely to be staged in summer when the Australian Open is on in Melbourne.

But opposition spokesman Sam Groth said the non-bid was a slap in the face to taxpayers who had ­already seen the government waste at least $600m cancelling Victoria’s Commonwealth Games.

“Victoria cannot afford to have its reputation further damaged,” he said.

“The Allan Labor government needs to explain why they didn’t even make a bid to host the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.”

Former tennis professional Groth said it made no sense to give the Australian Open as an excuse not to bid.

“I’ve played at Melbourne Park and I’ve never seen any football games taking away tennis courts,” he said.

A government spokesman said it was “a proud supporter of showcasing elite women’s football”, pointing to recent Matildas fixtures and a coming female Arsenal-A League All Stars match in Melbourne.

A well-placed source said the government could have been caught out by the popularity of women’s soccer as expressions of interests for states wanting to host the Asian Cup closed about a year ago.

Victoria was one of several states asked by Football Australia to put a case. Asia’s best 12 teams will compete at the Asian Cup in groups of four.

“They have gone with the three most compelling host city cases,” the source said.

Football Victoria declined to comment.

FA chief executive James Johnson said hosting the Asian Cup offered “a golden opportunity to continue the dynamic growth and popularity of women’s football”.

Originally published as State government fails to bid for Victorian Matildas matches