Price tag to blame for Canberra's withdrawal from 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup base bid

Canberra will not feature in any part of the World Cup next year after the government withdrew from the bid to host games or being a training base for visiting teams.

It can be revealed FIFA is asking training-base locations to underwrite more than $100,000 in costs for teams to fly in and out of cities for games.

The government said the price was too high given the limited economic return of having teams train in Canberra, but 14 other cities in Australia have offered up 35 training locations for the tournament.

"A number of our local facilities, public and private, were considered by the organising committee for hosting a women's World Cup base camp in 2023," a government spokesperson said.

"The government was advised that we would have had to cover travel costs for teams based in the ACT, which would likely have been in excess of $100,000 per match. There were also significant venue requirements that would have been challenging to address.

"Due to venue requirements and costs associated with hosting a base camp, Canberra wasn't able to participate in the event."

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The government faced at least a $300,000 price tag to host a team who only participates in the three-game group stage.

But the "significant venue requirements" needing to be met would have likely resulted in a bigger price tag attached to hosting a side.

As Capital Football's $33.5 million Home of Football in Throsby was earmarked to be a training centre next year, but it has been delayed, and will not be ready in time, until federal funding can be secured.

The withdrawal of the capital from the World Cup team base bid delivered another blow to fans of the game in Canberra.

The government initially pulled out of the process to host World Cup games back in 2019, citing the exorbitant costs of the FIFA event.

Following an outcry from the code's community, as to why the only city in Australia with a solo A-League Women's team had not bid to host matches, the government signalled its intent to have teams train in the capital and fly out for matches.

Before Tuesday's news ended those hopes.

An government spokesperson pointed to the cost once again, and said the cost of participating in major sporting tournaments could be significant.

They signalled the government's investment in the sport was all eaten up by the Home of Football project, where the government bundled in a three-game promise with Football Australia to host national team games.

"The government often has to balance the costs associated with our participation in a one off major event alongside other sporting investments, including regular international content in the Territory or infrastructure upgrades. For football, the ACT government remains committed to investing in the Throsby Home of Football," they said.

"The government is also committed to supporting the return of the Matildas and the Socceroos in the future. We believe these investments will deliver a more tangible impact on the growth of the game in the ACT, as opposed to hosting an international team for a relatively short period of time for training purposes."

But when the five-field Throsby venture will get underway remains unseen.

Already the opening date for the 28-hectare site has been pushed back to 2024, two years after its proposed completion date.

Its costs are also set to blow out again. A $9 million increase took the figure to $33.5 million in October, but it's expected to reach $48 million.