Having arrived in Melbourne to kick off their campaign, Australia’s best footballers including Matildas superstars Steph Catley and Alex Chidiac are ready to take on the world at their first ever home World Cup.

The Home of The Matildas is located at La Trobe University Sports Park in Bundoora and will serve as the centre for Football Australia to train the national women’s squad and, as a National Centre of Excellence, will provide a lasting legacy for the game in the development of the next generation of football superstars.

The site is also the new home of Football Victoria and will host their administrative activities, high performance training, development and recovery programs. Local football clubs will have access to the centre’s pitches and community level training and programs.

The facility is part of the Victorian Government’s investment in the La Trobe University’s Sports Park Stage 3 redevelopment which created 600 jobs during construction.

Victoria will play an important role in the FIFA Women’s World Cup across July and August with Canada, Jamaica and Morocco to train at team base camps across Melbourne. The four nations who qualify for the two Round of 16 matches at AAMI Park will also train in Melbourne in the lead-up to their matches.

Marvel Stadium will host a blockbuster send-off match between the Matildas and France on Friday 14 July.