Increased demand for marquee AFC Olympic Qualifier match causes stadium move
The Australian Women’s National Team will play three matches during the next international fixture window as a part of the AFC Women's Olympic football qualifying tournament. This tournament will obviously decide which Asian women’s national teams will go to the 2024 Paris Olympics. This means that there is a lot on the line.
The Matildas have been drawn into Group A, meaning they will face off against the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, and Iran. Prior to this week’s announcement, Australia was set to play each of their AFC Women's Olympic tournament group stage opponents at home HBF Park in Perth.
This week, Football Australia has announced the second of these three matches, the match against the Philippines, will instead be held at Optus Stadium.
According to Football Australia, the reason for this move is increased demand for Matildas’ tickets. Optus Stadium, which was called Perth Stadium during the 2023 Women’s World Cup, has the capacity to host 60,000 fans. HBF Park holds a mere 20,000.
It is unclear at this time whether Football Australia expects to completely sell out Optus Stadium, it would not be surprising if they do so. That would mean a lot of people at this game.
Not only are the Philippines the best team in Group A behind Australia, Perth, like many other major cities in Australia, is home to a significant Filipino community., meaning the Filipino national team could also have significant support on October 29th at Optus Stadium.
Australia’s first and third matches of the tournament, against Iran and Chinese Taipei, respectively, will still be held at HBF Park.
Matildas’ manager Tony Gustavsson has yet to announce his squad for the Olympic qualifiers next month. However, you should expect Australia to be among the favourites to win the tournament no matter who Gustavsson calls up.
Most betting sites offering women’s football odds for the upcoming 2024 Olympics have Australia listed as among the top contenders to come home with Olympic Gold.
Matildas’ enter new era following World Cup success
The reason the Matildas’ are able to move a match from a Despite neither Australia and New Zealand being a “proper football country,” the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was the most attended Women’s World Cup in history. Over 70,000 people regularly showed up to watch their nations play. No team had more support than the Matildas’.
The Australian Women played just one of their seven World Cup matches with less than 49,000 fans in attendance. That lone match with less than 49,000 fans was a group stage match against Canada where 27,000 fans packed into the 30,000 capacity Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
Many critics of the Matilda’s and soccer in Australia expected the hype to die down following Australia’s semi-final loss to England and disappointment in the third place fixture. This did not happen. The Women’s national team is as popular as ever, both among soccer fans and outsiders to the game.
Not only are the Matildas still packing out stadiums, their players are earning plaudits on and off the pitch. Sam Kerr and Hayley Raso have both been nominated for the Women’s Balon d’Or, and many Matildas players are being praised for their outspoken support for the Spanish national team amid their ongoing crisis.
The Australian government has also been inspired by the Matildas. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged $200m for the development of women’s sports in Australia following the heartwarming success of the Matildas. Additionally, women’s soccer games have been added to the government’s anti-siphoning scheme, meaning Matildas’ games will never be put behind a paywall.
