Australia

Is Football Australia biased towards hosting international fixtures in NSW? | Joey Lynch

19-Jan-2023 03:57:43 | Guardian

Statistics show a large majority of Matildas and Socceroos games are staged in New South Wales but context is needed to understand why

Last week, Matildas’ coach Tony Gustavsson cut a customarily jovial figure as he helped announce February’s Cup of Nations. The Swede had good reason to be convivial; the mini-tournament provides a chance to continue momentum from a successful November international window with a group-stage simulation against Spain, Jamaica and Czechia across Sydney, Gosford and Newcastle.

The New South Wales slant of the host cities is clear, and has been met with predictable reactions. In the wake of furious backlash to the Australian Professional Leagues’s sale of hosting rights for the next three A-Leagues grand finals to Sydney, Football Australia’s announcement that the Matildas’ next outings will be played exclusively in NSW was inevitably going to be conflated – even though the APL and FA are completely separate decision-making bodies.