Football NSW’s Valentine Sports Park has officially been announced as the Training Base Camp for FIFA Women’s world ranked number five nation France, as they prepare for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™.
Les Bleus will call Valentine Sports Park home for a month as coach Corinne Diacre will be busily preparing her troops for their assault on the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ with France pooled in Group F alongside Jamaica, Brazil and the Playoff Group A winner between Cameroon, Thailand, or Portugal.
Since the beginning of the new millennium, France have become one of the most consistent teams in Europe having qualified for their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2003 and reaching the quarter-finals in two of the three European Championships held since 2000.
France recorded a fourth-place finish at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and are hoping to go one better with the likes of stars such as captain Wendie Renard, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Sandy Baltimore and Kadidiatou Diani to name a few-the French team will be one to watch out for in a few months’ time on the world stage.
Football NSW CEO, John Tsatsimas, was delighted that Valentine Sports Park had been chosen as the venue to host one of the world’s best female footballing national teams.
“To be able to host a such talented football nation such as France at Valentine Sports Park is a huge achievement for the organisation and our sport.
“Valentine Sports Park is well and truly ingrained as the home of football in NSW and we are thrilled that our world class football facilities will play host to the French national team as they prepare for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™.
“The multi-purpose facility has been the go-to training venue for travelling national teams and professional clubs in Sydney, in addition to hosting a wide array of development teams, education courses, and gala days for participants of all ages and abilities for many years now.
“We are proud of the inclusive football facilities we have developed at Valentine Sports Park, and with the tournament fast approaching, we are committed to the roll out of Legacy programs to help ensure our members have the capacity and capabilities to meet the needs of our fast-growing female football community.
“Even though we will all be supporting our Matildas, hosting France will mean we will also have a soft spot for the nation, and we cannot wait to welcome them to our home at Glenwood.”
Valentine Sports Park boasts five full-size dedicated football fields aligned to FIFA specifications. In just the last eight months, the venue has hosted the likes of Wellington Phoenix, Perth Glory, and national teams from the USA and Saudi Arabia.
For the first time in FIFA Women’s World Cup history, competing countries will use dedicated Team Base Camps such as Valentine Sports Park for next year’s tournament.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ will kick off on July 20th, 2023, with tickets for matches currently on sale at www.fifa.com/tickets