Tuesday, 1 August 2023

FIFA Women’s World Cup

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (15:15): For many Australians there is soccer fever in the air at the moment, and with the Women’s World Cup I would like to congratulate the Matildas on their 4–0 win over Canada yesterday and taking another step closer to the cup. In the west we had the opportunity to host the Moroccan women’s soccer team. Wyndham City Council had the honour of accommodating a FIFA Women’s World Cup public training session at the Galvin Park Reserve soccer field. Besides the media, officials, supporters and fans, there were several groups of local women’s and girls soccer teams, along with the Melbourne Victory women’s team, admiring and inspiring the international players.

You could not help but think how much this Women’s World Cup will mean to Australia, the Matildas and the next generation of female players, the legacy it brings – the legacy of this event’s investment in infrastructure, implemented by FIFA, which has tapped into the grassroots, particularly the league development program – and how top class our Matildas squad in eight to 10 years time will be. It is a sad situation that other sports, other codes, will not have the same opportunity to play out their dreams, particularly in a couple of years time, with the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games. It is a shame that so many will miss out. In closing, my best wishes to the Matildas in their quest to conquer the World Cup in the coming days.