Ten years from today the eyes of the world will be on Australia, and specifically Brisbane, as the Opening Ceremony of the 2032 Olympic Games takes place.
As host nation of the 2032 Olympic Games Australia is set to feature in every sporting discipline, with the Matildas and Olyroos securing automatic qualification for the Games of the XXXV Olympiad’s women’s and men’s football tournaments.
Over the next decade Australia will enjoy a green and gold runway leading into Brisbane 2032, with dozens of major international sporting events being held in Australia as the Olympics approach.
Football is set to be at the heart of the green and gold runway, with Australian football teams and players representing the nation both at home and abroad in a raft of key qualifiers and competitions.
From a women’s football perspective, the action will intensify in 2023 when the globe’s largest standalone sporting event for women arrives on Australian shores.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ will unite the nation, with a participation boom predicted to come following the first-ever 32-nation Women’s World Cup.
Football Australia is working to ensure that a truly meaningful legacy for football, the community, and the nation is created from hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ via its Legacy ’23 plan.
The unprecedented exposure that the Matildas and football will receive in 2023 will inspire young girls and boys to live and love the sport, and the benefits that can be captured from the tournament, via Legacy ’23, can help to ensure that the next generation of elite Australian footballers are ready to leave their mark on Brisbane 2032.
Football Australia has also expressed its interest to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2026. Bringing this elite continental competition to Australian soil for a second time would add to the green and gold runway leading into Brisbane 2032 and provide another key milestone to grow the game.
From a men’s football perspective, the Olyroos will have numerous major tournaments before Brisbane 2032 kicks off.
Recently, Barcelona 1992 Olympian Tony Vidmar was named as Head Coach of the program, and he will take charge of Australia’s U23 men’s national football team as they endeavour to qualify for Paris 2024 via the AFC U23 Asian Cup earlier the same year.
Like the Matildas, Australia’s Olyroos will also be targeting a spot at Los Angeles 2028, before the Olympics arrive in Australia for the third time in history in 2032.
While the Olyroos will have several camps throughout late 2022 and early-to-mid 2023, the team’s next competitive fixtures are set to come in September 2023 when Vidmar’s charges contest their AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024 qualifiers.
Football Australia will continue to work with key stakeholders, including the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) and Sport Australia, to ensure the participation, high-performance, and legacy benefits from the green and gold runway are realised and maximised over the next.
