Australia’s bid for 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup gets the support it needs

Liam Watson

Australia is considering themselves as a contender to host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and with commitment already made towards the cause, we could be seeing some of the world’s best in our own country.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) has given praise to the Queensland government after they put their hand up to commit towards the bid to get the FIFA Women’s World Cup here in Australia.

Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane would be the main venue that would host several matches being played throughout the tournament.

The New South Wales Government has also given their support for this bid, and it is sure to encourage other states to lend and continue their support.

FFA has already received $5 million in funds from the Australian Government in preparation for the bid, showing that there is some keen interest to getting a major tournament down under.

FFA Chief Executive David Gallop gave the Queensland government credit.

“We are thrilled to have the support of the Queensland Government.  The confirmation of this support and the inclusion of Brisbane as a proposed Host City significantly strengthens Australia’s bid, he said.

“This will secure an outstanding legacy for female sport in Queensland and Australia, powering FFA’s drive towards Gender Equality in Football.

“Suncorp Stadium is a magnificent venue of football, and the prospect of hosting World Cup matches there is an extremely exciting one for the Westfield Matildas and everyone at FFA.

Representatives from Queensland have spoken of the importance hosting these type of events.

“We want Queensland to be known as a world-class destination for major events.  Hosting World Cup teams could make Queensland the centre of attention for a massively growing global audience, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

“It’s a big prestigious event, televised round the world and FIFA reports it attracted an audience of more than a billion during the tournament in France earlier this year.

The success of the 2019 tournament in France has led to a decision by FIFA to expand the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to a 32-team tournament up from 24.”

“Hosting this event would be a game changer for women’s sport in our state, Queensland Minister for Tourism Industry Development Kate Jones said.

“The Matildas captured the attention of the world at this year’s World Cup in France. But there is nothing like playing on home soil.

“To give the Matildas the chance to play in Queensland would do great things to promote gender equality and encourage more women and girls into sport in our state.”

FIFA will announce the host of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in May next year.

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Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

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Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

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Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

 

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

 

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.

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