Almost five years after she gave her support to Football West's push for a Home of Football, WA superstar Sam Kerr had her first experience of the WA State Football Centre today.
Kerr was looking forward to Perth Glory’s W-League final against Sydney FC when she spoke to Football West in February 2019.
“It’s obviously very important that girls have the right facilities growing up, and being able to play in the right environment so they can prepare for things like Young Matildas, Glory and Matildas camp,” she said.
And today the Chelsea striker arrived at the State Football Centre as the CommBank Matildas continued their preparations for their three upcoming Olympic Qualifiers in Perth.
On Thursday they face Iran at HBF Park, followed by Sunday’s clash against the Philippines at Optus Stadium, before a game against Chinese Taipei next Wednesday back at HBF Park.
Kerr's Matildas teammate Ellie Carpenter said today she was "shocked" with how good the Queens Park venue was. "The facilities are great. They’ve got everything you need and the gym and the pitch is great,” she said.
This is the CommBank Matildas’ first visit to Perth since 2018 when they defeated Thailand 5-0 in a friendly that attracted 7,549 fans. Australia's opening game of the Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 Asian Qualifiers Round 2 will see them host IR Iran at the very same stadium, with a full house expected to pack out HBF Park to welcome back the side.
The three matchdays have seen 100,000 tickets for the side's return to Perth, building on the success of the side's best-ever finish at a FIFA Women’s World Cup earlier this year on home soil.
CommBank Matildas midfielder Emily van Egmond, who was part of the matchday squad against Thailand, said: “If you would have asked us five years ago if we thought that was going to be possible, I don’t think anyone would have said yes.
“It’s amazing, the fact that young girls and boys can come out and see the women’s national team perform on home soil is great.”
The game against Iran is Australia’s first since the World Cup, where they reached the semi-finals.
“The World Cup was something special and once that was over, we all had to enjoy it in our ways, but then to get to come back together again and see the hype, it’s amazing, the Australian public getting behind this team, ” van Egmond said.
“I hope it continues, it was huge for us throughout that tournament, so hopefully, it’s huge for us now with these qualifiers, it’s going to be truly important for us to have three strong performances.
“We’re all just as excited as everyone else to be here at home and playing in front of the most amazing fans.”
The Olympic qualifiers mark the side’s first games since the FIFA Women's World Cup, with the side looking to advance to the next stage of qualification in February 2024. The group winner will join the winners of Group B and Group C, as well as the best-ranked runners-up, in Round 3.
Round 3 will take place on 24 and 28 February 2024 with the winners of the two home-and-away series progressing to Paris.
MATCH DAY 1
Australia v IR Iran
Date: Thursday 26 October 2023
Kick-off: 7pm AWST / 10pm AEDT
Broadcast: 10 Bold (WA, QLD & NT), Channel 10 (NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS & SA), 10 Play and Paramount+
Venue: HBF Park, Perth, Australia
Kick-off: 7.00pm AWST / 10.00pm AEDT
Broadcast: 10 Bold (WA, QLD & NT), Channel 10 (NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS & SA), 10 Play and Paramount+
Venue: HBF Park, Perth, Australia