By Tate Papworth
Brimbank’s chances of becoming the Australian headquarters of the national women’s soccer team have been given a boost.
Announcing a shortlist of candidates, Football Victoria last week nominated Brimbank, Casey, Darebin, Maroondah and La Trobe University in Bundoora as preferred locations for the Matildas.
The process will now move into discussions with the respective municipalities as part of a feasibility study.
Concept plans and cost estimates will be developed once a preferred site has been identified.
Football Victoria chief executive Peter Filopoulos said the facility would be a game changer for women’s soccer in Australia.
“Just as the Matildas are doing Australia proud on the world stage, it’s incumbent on us as a nation to provide them the high-performance home base that will help them stay at the forefront of international football and ensure the game keeps developing the stars of tomorrow,” he said.
“The creation of a national Home of the Matildas will go a long way towards helping the game in Victoria meet our stated objective of 50/50 gender participation by 2027.”
In March, Brimbank council rejected a proposal to include $300,000 in its draft budget to conduct “a number of studies and planning investigations” for the headquarters.
At its April meeting, Cr Margaret Giudice said the council wasn’t in a position to carry out the work suggested.
