Football Australia will host a four-team invitational tournament featuring three of Oceania’s highly ranked women’s national teams in the 2022 Pacific Women’s Four Nations Tournament in Canberra from November 8-13 2022.
The senior women’s national teams of Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands will join the Australia U-20s for a round-robin tournament that will feature the top three finishers at the 2022 OFC Women’s Nations Cup.
Over six days the four teams will participate in a series of double-headers on three match days at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and Queanbeyan’s Seiffert Oval.
November’s Four Nations tournament is the result of a partnership with Australian Government and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, through PacificAus Sports.
Football Australia CEO, James Johnson said:
“We are delighted to welcome the senior national teams of our Pacific neighbours Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands for the first Asia-Pacific cross-confederation tournament activity since the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“An initiative through our Legacy ’23 International Engagement pillar, in addition to providing the CommBank Young Matildas valuable match preparation ahead of their bid to qualify for AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2024, the Four Nations tournament will provide female footballers from the visiting Pacific nations with access to quality matches, high-performance facilities and expertise, including capacity-building sessions with Football Australia technical and subject-matter experts.
“With our two confederations, the OFC and the AFC, hosting the historic FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™, this tournament underscores Football Australia’s ongoing commitment to genuine, productive engagement as we work to be a centre of excellence for women’s football and a supporting partner in the growth of women’s football in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We thank for the Australian Government and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs for their collaboration on this tournament and look forward to working towards more projects in this space. Football Australia is living its vision to ensure legacy from next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and this impact is felt throughout the Asia-Pacific region.”
The CommBank Young Matildas will be led by head coach Leah Blayney with the new cycle of players set to be tested in their first international matches against rapidly improving opponents, including a Papua New Guinea side crowned Oceania champions in July.
Head coach Blayney said:
“This is a fantastic occasion for this group of players as they begin their international journey at the U-20 level. It will be a good opportunity for many to learn more about themselves as they take on some of the best teams in the Pacific region.”
“We always welcome international competition and the exposure it provides to different environments, playing styles and cultures. For the CommBank Young Matildas to have the ability to take on senior teams at their age, it will be invaluable to their future development.
“Following the first camp of this cycle last month, we have continued to keep watch over players and the squad selection has been based on performances at various talent identification tournaments held recently, application back in their home environments at state National Premier Leagues competitions and Liberty A-League Women’s clubs.
“To allow us to continue casting the net as wide as possible, players who participated in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2022™ have not been called in on this occasion.”
Papua New Guinea remain in contention to qualify for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ via next February’s inter-Confederation play-off where they will take on Panama in the Group C semi-finals at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on February 19 2023.
The 2022 Pacific Women’s Four Nations Tournament follows up the successful 2019 Pacific Tour, which saw the CommBank Junior Matildas travel to Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Tonga for a series of matches.
All matches in the Pacific Women’sFour Nations Tournament will be streamed LIVE via the Football Australia YouTube account, with fans encouraged to attend the final matchday free of charge at Seiffert Oval on November 13 2022.
MATCHDAY ONE
Tuesday, November 8 2022
Papua New Guinea v Fiji
Location: Australian Institute of Sports, Canberra
Kick-Off: 10.00am local time.
CommBank Young Matildas v Solomon Islands
Location: Australian Institute of Sports, Canberra
Kick-Off: 5.00pm local time.
MATCHDAY TWO
Friday, November 11 2022
Solomon Islands v Papua New Guinea
Location: Australian Institute of Sports, Canberra
Kick-Off: 10.00am local time.
CommBank Young Matildas v Fiji
Location: Australian Institute of Sports, Canberra
Kick-Off: 5.00pm local time.
MATCHDAY THREE
Sunday, November 13 2022
Fiji v Solomon Islands
Location: Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan
Kick-Off: 10.00am local time.
CommBank Young Matildas v Papua New Guinea
Location: Seiffert Oval, Queanbeyan
Kick-Off: 4.00pm local time.
Matchday round-ups will be posted on OFC’s website and social media channels throughout the tournament.