The development of the legacy plan began six months after Australia won the bid to co-host the tournament with New Zealand, aiming to employ the event as a vehicle to transform the sport’s landscape in the country.
Football Australia said it aims to utilise the ongoing Women’s World Cup to develop lasting legacies for their nation’s largest community sport, drawing lessons from Qatar’s investment in infrastructure during the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
In an interview with Forbes, James Johnson, CEO of Football Australia, shared details of the organisation’s strategic initiative, “Legacy ’23”.
Qatar’s successful hosting of the 2022 Men’s World Cup left an indelible mark on football’s global scene with its substantial infrastructure developments, including state-of-the-art stadiums and transport systems.
This event’s legacy continues to resonate beyond the boundaries of the sport itself, with a ripple effect on the region’s socio-economic dynamics, inspiring organisations such as Football Australia that now seek to emulate this, albeit in a scaled-down version.
Johnson said they “looked a lot around what Qatar did with legacy, and their focus was very much on infrastructure, football infrastructure, stadiums, but also new transport systems etc.”
“Now we knew very well that we were never gonna get the level of investment into a legacy that the Qatar government was going to give. But we looked at the framework and the strategy that Qatar provided,” he explained to Forbes.
“Legacy ’23” comprises three primary goals: to increase player participation across Australia, collaborate with governments to secure increased investment, and implement a high-performance programme for the national women’s team, the Matildas, in preparation for the World Cup.
The development of the legacy plan began six months after Australia won the bid to co-host the tournament with New Zealand, aiming to employ the event as a vehicle to transform the sport’s landscape in the country.
Drawing lessons from previous tournaments, such as the 2022 Women’s Euros in England, the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar, and the 1994 Men’s and the 1999 Women’s World Cups in the United States, Johnson said Football Australia meticulously studied these past events to inform their strategic legacy plan.
For instance, recognising the significance of the first match’s tone for the entire competition, the Matildas’ opening game was moved from Sydney Football Stadium to Stadium Australia, resulting in record attendance for a women’s match in Australia.
Moreover, the organisation is hoping that the tournament’s impact transcends the host nations, influencing the broader regions of Asia and Oceania.
As part of their preparation, the Matildas faced every top-10-ranked team and sought to address weaknesses identified early in 2020.
A key challenge was the lack of depth and inability to defeat top global nations, particularly European ones. However, according to Johnson, the strategy seems to be paying off.
He stated, “And in the last six months, in particular, the Matildas have beat several big nations – They’ve beat England, Sweden, Spain, and France.”
Australia, which has never advanced beyond the World Cup quarter-finals, will face Nigeria in their second group game on Thursday before confronting the Olympic champions Canada.
Despite these being friendly matches, Johnson maintains a cautiously optimistic outlook, affirming that the team is as well prepared as they could be as part of their legacy programme.