Townsville City Council are throwing their support behind Australia's World Cup campaign with a special watch party at Strand Park for the Matildas quarter-final clash with France from 4-9pm this Saturday.
Football fans can catch all the excitement of this do-or-die clash on a massive LED screen, while enjoying free soccer games, activities and giveaways courtesy of Football Queensland (FQ) or grabbing a bite to eat from one of the food trucks.
Families and friends are also encouraged to bring their own food, picnic blankets and camping chairs to watch the game and hopefully watch our Aussie athletes qualify for a first every World Cup semi-final, with the game kicking off at 5pm.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said Council was delighted to support Football Queensland to offer this free event for our community and encouraged everyone to come along and make their voices heard as the Matildas do us proud at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
"The Matildas have captured the hearts and minds of all of Australia with this World Cup run and Townsville is right behind them as they look to make history," Cr Hill said.
"Townsville was lucky enough to have the Matildas at Queensland Country Bank Stadium last year for their incredible 2-1 comeback win over New Zealand.
"We had more than 10,000 people there that night cheering on our athletes and we're hoping for a great crowd again this Saturday as the Matildas take on France."
FQ General Manager (Northern Region) Declan Carnes said it would be a fantastic, family-friendly event for Townsville.
"To see the Matildas progress with that amazing win over Denmark in Sydney in front of 76,000 fans on Monday night was a huge result for our nation and for women and girls all over the country," he said.
"There is a real buzz around all our junior players, boys and girls, and we've hit another record of 4500 registered juniors so the Matildas really are doing wonders for our game.
"It's not just about the excitement of the Matildas and the World Cup, it's about the legacy, money and infrastructure that this tournament will create for the future of football in Australia.
"We've also postponed all senior matches on Saturday night to Sunday so everyone has the chance to get down to Strand Park and be a part of what's hopefully a night to remember for our Matildas."
