ACT Liberal Party calls for FIFA World Cup live site at Civic Square

Fans packed into Civic Square to watch the Socceroos during last year's men's tournament however Chief Minister Andrew Barr is yet to commit to setting up big screens in the city during the event in July and August.

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The establishment of a live site is the final chance for Canberra to engage with the World Cup after the government opted against bidding for matches and then withdrew from the race to become a training base.

"The Canberra Liberals advocated strongly for the ACT to host World Cup games which would have been an important investment in women's sport and for the city," shadow minister for sport and recreation James Milligan said.

"It is disappointing that the Chief Minister decided not to bring any games to the ACT but many members of the community that I speak with especially at grassroots level are wanting to support our fantastic Matildas.

"Providing a space and a big screen for members of the community to gather and cheer on the Matildas would be a great way for Canberra to show our support."

Officials across the country are in the process of establishing live sites to allow soccer fans to come together to watch the Matildas.

FIFA fan festivals will be set up in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide but not Canberra.

The governing body has also placed restrictions on organisations hoping to screen matches. FIFA will require councils and governments to apply to host a screening and is reportedly considering charging fees.

For Milligan, the benefits outweigh the costs and he called for Matildas matches to be broadcast in Civic.

"We saw recently with the Men's World Cup a large number of Canberrans converge on Civic Square to watch Australia play Argentina," Milligan said.

"Canberrans love our sport and we should be doing all we can to support our women as they take on the world in the upcoming World Cup."

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