Professional Footballers Australia (the PFA) joins the trans-Tasman football community in celebrating Australia and New Zealand’s successful bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
FIFA confirmed the 2023 tournament will be co-hosted across confederations for the first time in men’s and women’s FIFA World Cup history with Australia’s role in securing hosting rights demonstrating the country’s growing global football reputation.
Former Matilda captain and PFA Deputy Chief Executive Kathryn Gill said hosting a FIFA Women’s World Cup would unite and inspire millions of sporting fans.
“For the Matildas, hosting a World Cup on home soil provides an incredible opportunity for our sport to inspire a generation of young girls to fall in love with football,” Gill said.
“Equally, the Australian football public will be able to celebrate the extraordinary growth and popularity of our current generation of national team players and experience the global game’s biggest spectacle in our own country.
“This is truly a transformative moment for women’s sport in Australia.”
With the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France attracting a combined 1.12 billion global viewers and attended by 1.13 million football fans, PFA Chief Executive John Didulica congratulated the 2023 Bid Team for their years of hard work and said that acquiring the pinnacle event of women’s team sport would continue the positive trajectory for women’s football in Australia.
“Some of the most iconic moments in the history of football are host nations holding aloft the World Cup – Australia now has that opportunity to own a piece of football iconography,” Didulica said.
“No country – at all levels of the sport – has worked harder than Australia in recent years to genuinely empower women in football and women’s football. This has been achieved through workplace reform and governance reform but moreover through the universal respect our players have earned through their breath-taking performances and energising personalities.”
“Now the Matildas will have the opportunity to further build on their incredible journey and experiences – hopefully adding a defining chapter to our sports’ rich history.”
