This year promises to be one of the biggest in history for WA-based fans of the world game, as 2023 shapes up to be a flagship year for the sport locally.
There are numerous reasons for soccer fans to get excited in 2023, chief among them Perth’s role as one of the host cities for the looming Women’s World Cup in July.
But there is also the potential end of the Socceroos and Matildas’ hiatus from Perth, and at a grassroots level, the opening of Football West’s long-awaited State Football Centre.
Perth Glory’s inaugural women’s coach Nicola Williams said 2023 could be the biggest year in the history of the sport in Australia, with the impending World Cup at the forefront of that belief.
Williams has watched the sport and the Matildas go from strength to strength over the past 15 years, with her own coaching journey taking her to assistant roles for AC Milan, Lazio and Leicester City’s women’s teams.
“I think it’s something that Australian football has been working towards, a big event like that, especially supporting the Matildas, who’ve been in and around the top 10 for a number of years,” she said.
“Women’s football has been growing, so it’s definitely something that was due to come.”
Perth will host five group-stage games across a 13-day spell, including two games featuring Denmark and another match featuring world No.6 Canada.
The pair will take on China and the Republic of Ireland respectively — two countries that should have a level of local support given their sizeable population of ex-pats in WA.
FIFA estimated that the 2019 tournament in France drew one billion global viewers, and having been there to witness it, Williams said the color and energy of the traveling fans could take over the city.
“The day event when the match is on, there’s movement around the stadium, lots of people, merchandise, everyone’s happy, there’s music playing, everyone’s wearing the colors of their country,” said Williams.
“The supporters meet in bars outside the stadium and there’s a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of rivalry and then you get into the stadium. It’s a showcase piece.”
Football West chief executive Jamie Harnwell said 2023 had the potential to be a transformational year for the sport.
“With the Women’s World Cup, we’ve got a number of plans that we’re looking to release across school programs and community programs,” he said.
“In particular, leadership and development for women and girls to make sure we do have role models in the future — not just on the field like Sam Kerr, but also referees, coaches and in administration.”
While the Matildas will not visit Perth during the World Cup, Harnwell said the time was ripe for both them and the Socceroos to return to WA.
Football Australia chief executive James Johnson has already floated the chance of both national teams heading to Perth in 2023, with the Socceroos’ last visit coming in 2016 and the Matildas’ most recent trip in 2018.
“We’re a part of Australia, we felt a little bit isolated — not just in the last couple of years with COVID, but prior to that, they were infrequent visitors,” Harnwell said.
“I want to make sure that’s absolutely not the case. Moving forward, we’re a key part of any planning for either future tournaments, friendly games and the like.
“We’re beautifully located with our climate, we’re in direct time zone with a lot of Asia, direct flights continue to come through to Europe. So it makes sense for Socceroos and Matildas games to be held here.”
After more than a decade in the pipeline, the State Football Center in Queens Park will be opened, giving the governing body a permanent headquarters, complete with training and playing facilities.
“We’ve had to start, borrow grounds across different councils, rely on favors from clubs for our talent development programs, community programming, coaching courses, referee courses, everything,” Harnwell said.
“There’s going to be some great opportunities for professional teams for utilizing the venue and those benefits will only flow down through the entire game.”
Harnwell said local clubs had received an increased number of inquiries off the back of the Socceroos’ historic World Cup performance and ahead of the Matildas’ home World Cup.
“There’s a great opportunity to be linked with a world game that goes from the pinnacle of Lionel Messi to kids on the street having a kick around in the suburbs of Perth. It’s a really powerful message.”
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