Football Federation Australia (FFA) has teamed up with the New South Wales Government, Brisbane City Council and the Victorian Government to launch a new women’s national team tournament.
The inaugural Cup of Nations will be held from February 28 to March 6. The four-nation tournament will comprise of three double-header matchdays across three states, cities, and stadia, over seven days.
The Cup of Nations will see Australia joined by fellow 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup finalists Argentina, Korea Republic and New Zealand.
The six-match tournament will kick-off at Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah, Sydney on February 28 with Argentina playing Korea Republic followed by Australia against New Zealand. The New Zealand match will take on extra significance as 2019 marks 40 years since Australia played its first ‘A’ international, which was against its local rival.
Three days later, the Cup of Nations will shift to Brisbane as Argentina and New Zealand go head to head at Suncorp Stadium, before Australia takes on Korea Republic in their second match of the tournament. This will mark the first fixture played by Australia in Brisbane since 2014.
Melbourne’s AAMI Park (pictured) will play host to the third and final match day of the Cup of Nations on March 6 where Korea Republic will take on New Zealand, and Australia will meet Argentina in the last game of the competition.
FFA chief executive David Gallop said in a statement: “We’ve been working towards hosting a four-nation tournament in Australia for some time and it’s great to finally unveil what we plan on becoming a regular feature of the Australian sporting calendar.
“We’ve seen the success of other competitions such as the Tournament of Nations in the USA and they’ve helped inspire and inform the creation of the Cup of Nations.
“The Cup of Nations will present football fans in Australia’s three biggest cities with the opportunity to farewell the Westfield Matildas ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, as well as get a taste of the international football festival that awaits in France.”
The formation of the Cup of Nations comes with Australia bidding to host the Women’s World Cup for the first time in 2023.
“Any time we get an opportunity to showcase the game and where it’s at, particularly women’s football, it’s a reminder to FIFA that we’ve got the ability to host world-class tournaments,” Gallop added to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. “Although it’s only a week, we will show that Australians would get behind a Women’s World Cup.”
Image: Visit Victoria
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