Training sites announced for 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia

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13 training sites across 5 Australian cities have been selected in the initial phase of team facility planning, for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The confirmed list of sites selected for participating nations to conduct training sessions throughout the tournament include:

  • Adelaide/ Tarntanya – Marden Sports Complex (Marden), South Australia Football Centre (Gepps Cross)
  • Brisbane / Meaanjin – Perry Park (Bowen Hills), Spencer Park (Newmarket)
  • Melbourne / Naarm – JL Murphy Reserve (Port Melbourne), Lakeside Stadium (Albert Park), Reggio Calabria Club (Parkville)
  • Perth / Boorloo – Dorrien Gardens (West Perth), Western Australia State Football Centre (Queens Park)
  • Sydney / Gadigal – ES Marks Athletics Field (Kensington), Leichhardt Oval (Leichardt), Valentine Sports Park (Glenwood), Western Sydney Wanderers Centre of Football (Rooty Hill)

Football Australia’s Head of Women’s World Cup Legacy, Sarah Walsh, said of the announcement: “This is an important moment for our host cities and the start of a number of exciting announcements around the tournament as it starts to come to life for our local football communities.

“Beyond the major stadia, we now see multiple facilities having an opportunity to be a part of this tournament of firsts, with many of these Training Sites having a strong football footprint and are deeply embedded in their local communities.  This is a chance to increase their involvement and highlight the contribution to Australia’s football story.

“Their selection as training sites for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 highlights the importance of high-quality community facilities.  Through our community facilities Legacy ’23 pillar, we will be working to ensure that many more community grounds are equipped with female-friendly sporting facilities to accelerate the growth of women’s football post-tournament.”

Football Queensland CEO, Robert Cavallucci, welcomed the news that international stars would be training at some of the state’s premium football venues.

“With two of our state’s iconic football venues selected as training sites for the tournament, we look forward to continuing to work with Queensland Government to ensure we are supporting the growth of the women’s game and delivering a lasting legacy for Queensland’s footballers,” he stated.

Football NSW CEO, Stuart Hodge, was delighted with the news.

“We are proud of the inclusive football facilities we have developed at Valentine Sports Park,” he said.

“With the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 fast approaching, we are committed to the rollout of Legacy programs to help ensure our members have the capacity and capabilities to meet the needs of our fast-growing female football community.”

Football South Australia CEO, Michael Carter, highlighted the impact the State Centre for Football will have in increasing the participation of women and girls in the years to come.

“The State Centre for Football, which is due for completion late April will be a great facility that will connect grassroots to the elite,” he stated.

“The Centre will play a vital role for our Legacy Plan, providing opportunities for all through a variety of programs such as social football, school competitions, Walking Football and inclusion programs.”

Football Victoria President, Antonella Care, added: “The selected Victorian venues have extended ties to our game and will provide modern, state-of-the-art facilities as training sites for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

“Not only will they provide an ideal environment for teams to prepare ahead of their matches; they will also ensure women’s football flourishes well beyond it.”

Football West CEO, James Curtis, explained: “There is great excitement in Western Australia for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and we are delighted that we have two fantastic venues which will play host to national teams.

“The State Football Centre will deliver a legacy for female football in WA for decades to come and it is fitting that it will be forever associated with the Women’s World Cup, the pinnacle of our game. Football West regularly uses Dorrien Gardens for our finals, and this is another first-class facility which will be worthy of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

In the coming months, the next phase of the training site project will be completed, with an evaluation of other prospective training sites across both Australia and New Zealand.

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

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

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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