The Turnbull Government will support Football Federation Australia’s (FFA) bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.
Australians love sport – it’s an important part of our culture and identity – and we have a proud history of hosting world-class sporting events.
On the back of the successful Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Asian Cup in 2015, Australia has a well-deserved reputation for hosting high profile football events and should be a strong contender to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The AFC Asian Cup brought together Australian football fans of all nationalities in a vibrant multicultural celebration of sport, and was recognised internationally as a huge success.
To assist Football Federation Australia to prepare its bid, the Australian Government is providing initial funding of $1 million. This will be used to establish governance arrangements and begin developing the technical material required.
Further funding of $4 million will also be made available in December if the Government is satisfied that there are reasonable prospects of success and that the process conforms with the highest standards of probity.
We are acutely aware that the previous bidding process for the 2022 Men's World Cup was called into question with the most serious probity allegations. Our advice is that FIFA has reformed and is committed to an open and transparent bidding process.
However, in order to manage public money carefully and prudently while also supporting women's sport, we are taking a cautious two-step approach to investing in the bid.
The Women’s World Cup will bring together 24 teams from around the world to play 52 matches over 30 days. Our national team, the Matildas, is currently ranked eighth in the world.
With the profile of women’s sport in Australia increasing, hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 would represent another opportunity to inspire girls and young women to engage in sport for fun and to improve their health.
Hosting a FIFA event also brings many economic benefits. Televised matches play to a global audience of more than 720 million, boosting domestic and international tourism and job creation.
It is expected final bids to host the event will be due by late 2018, with FIFA expected to announce the successful host in early 2019.