Today, the Australian Government confirmed it would provide $4 million of funding for the formal phase of bidding. 

This comes after an initial $1 million was provided in June 2017 to initiate a first phase of the bid.

The funding would be used to support the appointment of a bid team responsible for the delivery of the final submission to FIFA. 

“We welcome the partnership of the Australian Government in our bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 and thank the Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull and his ministerial colleagues for the strong support they have provided,” Gallop said.

“I think it’s fair to say that the Westfield Matildas have become Australia’s favourite team over the past year and they are inspiring girls and boys around the country to take up football, which is already the biggest participation sport in Australia.

Gallop suggested the event would bring a wide range of benefits including promoting healthy, active lifestyles, inclusion and gender equality.

The last FIFA Women’s World Cup was attended by 1.35 million people and had a global television audience of 764 million.

FFA sat down with the Matildas last year to seek input and will be looking to engage with others in the football community as the development of the bid progresses.