FFA appoints Jane Fernandez to head Fifa Women’s World Cup
After doing a good job in the course of Australia’s bid, the Football Federation Australia (FFA) has confirmed that Jane Fernandez will continue as the Head of Women’s World Cup 2023 Office.
The ninth edition of the quadrennial world championship for women’s national football teams will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand between July 10 and August 20, 2023, with the competition expanded from 24 to 32 teams for the first time.
The United States are the defending champions, having won the previous two tournaments in 2015 and 2019.
Friday’s announcement about Fernandez continuing her association with the FFA was made by FFA CEO James Johnson.
“As General Manager of the FWWC Bid, Jane did an exceptional job in managing a technically superb bid that helped to secure co-hosting rights to the tournament and we are delighted she has agreed to continue with FFA and join our senior management team,” Johnson said in his welcome note.
“Jane is a highly-skilled and experienced in major sporting events professional and we look forward to seeing her play a vital role in bringing our vision for the Fifa Women’s World Cup to life, just as she did previously in her role as Tournament Director of the AFC Asian Cup Australia 2015.”
Nine countries had initially indicated interest in hosting the event, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, South Korea (with interest in a joint bid with North Korea) and South Africa. Belgium and Bolivia dropped out, while New Zealand and Australia decided on a joint bid. However, both Brazil and Japan later withdrew their bids in June 2020 before the final voting.
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“Jane’s appointment, following our successful announcement as co-hosts of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, is an early step of many we will be taking in pursuit of our objective. We are pleased to begin realising this as an important legacy of hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. Jane is an excellent ambassador for our game and we hope that her example will inspire women and girls across football in Australia and beyond” he added.