Coffs Harbour has been short-listed as one of 35 Team Base Camp options for the FIFA Women's World Cup™ in 2023.
For the first time in FIFA Women's World Cup™ history, competing countries will use dedicated Team Base Camps in next year's tournament in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. FIFA last week confirmed the short-listed Team Base Camp options that will be available for selection by participating teams (Participating Member Associations: PMAs) for the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™. A Team Base Camp (TBC) is the 'home away from home' for a PMA during the competition period and includes an accommodation and training site pairing for the entire delegation.
In Australia, 35 Team Base Camp options have been shortlisted across five Host Cities and 11 other regional centres, for the 16 Participating Member Associations that will play group matches in Australia. In Aotearoa New Zealand, 21 TBC options have been shortlisted across four Host Cities and five other regional centres, for the 16 PMAs that will play group matches in Aotearoa New Zealand. After the Draw for the Tournament in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau on 22 October 2022, the 29 qualified PMAs will be able to visit the various TBC sites in the country where they are drawn to play their group matches and submit to FIFA their preferred TBC choices. FIFA will then confirm the selected TBCs by the end of 2022.
The three PMAs that will qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ via the Play-Off Tournament in February 2023 will select their TBC after qualification. Appearing on the shortlist does not equate to a pairing's automatic confirmation as a TBC. It simply means the venue has passed a thorough evaluation process and is eligible for selection by a PMA. In addition to the TBCs, Venue Specific Team Hotel and Venue Specific Training Sites pairings aligned to the 10 match venues have been confirmed. There are two per host city – eight in Aotearoa New Zealand and 10 in Australia – and these will primarily be used for match preparation activities on the day before match days.
Coffs Harbour Mayor, Councillor Paul Amos was thrilled with the news: "What an amazing testament to the sporting and accommodation facilities here in Coffs Harbour, that we've made the shortlist of the Team Base Camp options for an internationally renowned event like the FIFA Women's World Cup!
"Regardless of whether we get chosen as one of the final base camps or not, I'm immensely proud to have made the shortlist and of the efforts of the team to get us to this point. The application has been a long process that commenced back in 2019.
"I'll be keeping a close eye on the World Cup draw and hoping one of the teams will pick Coffs as their home away from home in 2023."
Source: FIFA.com
