The Blue Mountains Greens are calling on the Blue Mountains City Council to work with the Australian government and FIFA to “bring the 2023 Women’s Football World Cup to the Blue Mountains”.
Australia and New Zealand are co-hosting the World Cup across nine cities in 2023, with the final to be held in Sydney.
The Blue Mountains Greens are proposing “fan zones” are set-up in the Blue Mountains to allow the community to come together to watch the World Cup. Fan zones could be established at community facilities or sporting fields. They would consist of large screens and seating, local businesses would be invited to set up food stalls and local performers would entertain the crowds.
Greens candidate for Ward 1, Sarah Redshaw, said:
“We are all still in awe of the Matildas performance at the Tokyo Olympics, and their matches against Brazil in Sydney this week, and we can’t wait to see them in action at the World Cup in 2023. Being able to come together as a community to cheer them on would be really special.
Greens councillor for Ward 2, Brent Hoare, said:
“When the World Cup comes to town not everyone will be able to make it to games in person in the city. Thousands of Blue Mountains residents play football and we want them to be able to enjoy this special time – we can do this by hosting fan zones at our community facilities.
Greens candidate for Ward 3, Kingsley Liu, said:
“Bringing the community together around the World Cup will also be a great opportunity to support local businesses. We want to see food stalls and shops, and we want local performers entertaining the crowds before and after the matches. It will be the World Cup atmosphere, right here in the Blue Mountains.
“It won’t just be yellow and green jerseys out there though — it will also be an opportunity to celebrate our multicultural community”.