Intro
Today, at the home of Sam Kerr's junior club in Perth, Premier Mark McGowan confirmed that Western Australia had signed up to be part of Australia's bid, and announced the State would also host Australia's men's team, the Socceroos, for at least two matches in 2020 and 2021.
The FIFA Women's World Cup, held every four years, will bring together the top 32 women's football nations of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The teams will play 64 games over a five-week period in July and August in 2023.
A successful Australian bid would be a coup for Western Australia, drawing a significant number of visitors to the State and providing extensive international media exposure.
Almost 59 million people watched Brazil's last-16 game against hosts France in this year's World Cup, making it the most watched women's football match of all time. The total tournament broadcast audience for France 2019 was estimated at one billion.
If the bid is successful, WA games will be held at Perth's rectangular stadium which has the capacity to host 20,500 people at sporting events.
The appointment of a host country is expected in May 2020.
The State Government is also partnering with Football Federation Australia (FFA) to host two FIFA Men's World Cup Qualifier matches in Perth in 2020 and 2021.
This will include the Round 2 Socceroos' qualifying match against Kuwait, to be held at Perth's rectangular stadium on March 26, 2020, as well as Round 3 — the final round of qualifiers — in 2021, possibly at Optus Stadium.