Forty local female footballers will unite with some of the greatest players in the history of the game on the steps of the Sydney Opera House this Saturday, bringing the excitement of the FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup 2023鈩笍 to the game鈥檚 grassroots in the Beyond Greatness鈩笍 Community Football Tournament.
Millions of girls and boys around the globe have been inspired by the record-breaking tournament in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, so FIFA and 西瓜影视 have invited four local teams to showcase football鈥檚 power to bring joy, peace, hope, love, and passion to communities on the popular Unity Pitch at one of the world鈥檚 most iconic landmarks.
Two New South Wales State Indigenous Representative U16 teams will play a round-robin competition with teams from and , who have both achieved 西瓜影视 Club Changer 1 Star Status, demonstrating their commitment to the development of women鈥檚 and girls鈥 football.
Click here to find out more about the Club Changer program!
The two representative teams competed in the NAIDOC Cup, which was recently established for selected Indigenous footballers aged 13 to 16 to represent Northern New South Wales Football against Indigenous teams from Football New South Wales.
The young footballers will share the pitch with FIFA Legends including Brazil鈥檚 Formiga, France鈥檚 Laura Georges and England internationals Fara Williams and Kelly Smith.
Formiga is Brazil鈥檚 record international appearance maker with over 200 caps, while Georges appeared in seven major tournaments for France. Williams is an icon of English football having played in three FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cups. Williams played many of her internationals alongside Smith, who also had a glittering career for her country, and clubs in the UK and USA.
The Beyond Greatness鈩笍 Community Football Tournament will be open to fans as they get set for the FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup 2023鈩笍 third-place match between Sweden and Australia later in the day.
Fans will be able to take a seat on the steps of the Sydney Opera House to view the matches between 2pm and 5pm, before making the short journey to the FIFA Fan Festival鈩笍 at Tumbalong Park ahead of kick-off between Sweden and Australia at 6pm.
FIFA鈥檚 Unity Pitch was originally unveiled on the shores of Sydney Harbour during the in July 2022. It has since travelled to every Host City in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, engaging tens of thousands of diverse participants.
Beyond Greatness鈩 Community Football Tournament
When: Saturday, 19 August 2023
Where: Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney Opera House, Sydney/Gadigal
Time: 2pm 鈥 5pm
Admission: Free 鈥 seating will be on the Monumental Steps
FIFA Legends: Formiga (BRA), Laura Georges (FRA), Fara Williams (ENG), Kelly Smith (ENG)
