Socceroos and Matildas to play in Canberra as part of $24.5 million deal

As revealed by The Canberra Times, the peak soccer body in the capital has secured $20 million in ACT government funding to build a new facility at Throsby by 2021.

Capital Football will add $4.5 million of its own money and the overall deal includes Football Federation Australia bringing a combination of three Socceroos and Matildas games to the city.

Details of which Socceroos and Matildas games will be brought to Canberra will be announced on Friday.

The Socceroos haven't played in Canberra since 2015 and the Matildas, who are about to start their World Cup campaign, haven't played in the capital since beating New Zealand at the AIS track in 2013.

Capital Football boss Phil Brown said designs were yet to be finalised, but there would be a mix of futsal courts and synthetic and grass fields.

"This will bring us into line with a lot of the other sports in the ACT and other football federations around the country," Brown said.

"Having a home and a base and somewhere where we can not only house the pathways and programs for talented players, coaches and referees but also provide opportunities for growth in grassroots and for grassroot players to experience playing at a new facility that accommodates all of them.

The FFA rejected Canberra's bid for an A-League licence at the end of last year, but officials say they are keen to expand into the city in the coming years.

A-League bid leader Michael Caggiano welcomed news of a new facility, which would enhance a proposal for a professional men's team.

Canberra's W-League team, Canberra United, will be based at the new hub.

"We're always excited by any investment in football in the region. The sport is six to one on the nearest sport in terms of participation and you can't help but be excited by plans that will effect so many in a positive way," Caggiano said.

"We've been aware of the home of football concept and plans for a while now, so much so with the great support of Phil Brown and Mark O'Neill, we were able to make the FFA aware of the multi-million dollars' worth of additional local government investment in our expansion bidding last year.

"Our international investors are buoyed by the continued local government support for the sport in Canberra and the region, they see this as a real marker of intent, of a football community all working together - they've said specifically this is one of the underlying attractions to investing in Canberra and the surrounding region."

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Canberra's A-League bid has a memorandum of understanding with Capital Football to take on the Canberra United licence in the future.

"It's certainly a great opportunity for the ACT to host senior national team training camps in the future," Brown said. "Having a training base will [also] support the aspiration to have an A-League team as the competition continues to expand."

"This high performance and community facility is just as much about providing for the grassroots as it is providing a training base for our elite teams, such as Canberra United.

"The 'home of football' facility represents a real opportunity for the strategic growth of football in the ACT."

The addition of indoor futsal courts will help account for the growth of the women's game as the organisation strives to achieve gender parity.

Forty-two per cent of registered futsal players in Canberra are female, which is more than double the national average. The details and designs of the project are to come to fruition but Brown confirmed the facility will provide female-friendly change rooms and amenities.

"The facility will provide a welcoming and safe environment for everyone and the important part is that a lot of our facilities which host football competitions are at capacity," Brown said.

"With such a strong ratio of female players this new facility will give us the opportunity to run more competitions and continue towards our aspiration of parity across male and female participation."