It was a busy but productive visit to Perth/Boorloo this week as FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura continued her visit to Australia ahead of the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand™️ starting this July. The visit to Australia’s west included an inspection of the newly refurbished Perth Rectangular Stadium, training sites, meetings with senior members of Western Australia’s government and a grassroots football event. At Perth’s Rectangular Stadium, the FIFA Secretary General visited the city’s traditional football home and viewed the significant upgrades made ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The venue for five Australia & New Zealand FWWC 23 matches now boasts new and expanded dressing rooms, plus new stadium seating and associated venue infrastructure, with local club Perth Glory to benefit from the legacy of the tournament. Denmark-China PR and Canada-Republic of Ireland are among the potentially pivotal group-stages matches to be played at the former home venue for Matildas’ superstar and Captain Sam Kerr.

The FIFA Secretary General also visited the training venues for Denmark and Haiti, with the pair to be domiciled in  Western Australia as their Team Base Camp. As with the city’s main venue, upgrades to the two training grounds will also bring long-term benefits for respective local clubs Kingsway Olympic and Sorrento FC.

Away from the pitch, the FIFA Secretary General enjoyed highly encouraging and engaging discussions with the Western Australian government. In attendance were Western Australia Deputy Premier Roger Cook and Minister of Sports David Templeman, with the state government underlining their readiness for the tournament and enthusiasm to host future football events, including FIFA World Cup and Olympic qualifiers.

That desire to host events also played into encouraging discussions with Tourism Western Australia, where the Secretary General met with several representatives led by Managing Director of Tourism Western Australia, Carolyn Turnbull.

Along with FIFA Chief Women’s Football Officer, Sarai Bareman, the Secretary General attended a grassroots football event organised by Football Australia and Football West at Percy Doyle Reserve. There, the FIFA delegation met with young members of Sorrento FC and presented certificates in recognition of excellence in football at grassroots level.