Football Australia chief executive James Johnson has made it clear he's on board with Matildas star Steph Catley's hopes for the hugely popular team to play at the MCG in February.
Taylor Swift could dash those hopes with the global pop megastar locked in to perform at the 100,000-seat venue on February 16 and 18, just a week before the Matildas will likely be contesting their final Olympic qualifying matches.
There are fears that the MCG won't be fit for use only a week after Swift's MCG takeover, but Catley said in a press conference on Tuesday that playing at the venue would be "pretty incredible".
READ MORE: Why cricket legend will never work with Aussie team
READ MORE: Sacked NRL star's career 'appears over' despite offers
READ MORE: Disgruntled NBA star 'ecstatic' over mega trade
"So James, if you're listening — MCG," Catley added.
Johnson was quizzed on the collision course awaiting the Matildas and Swift on Nine's Today on Wednesday.
"The first thing we've got to do is qualify for round two of the Olympic qualifiers. We will do that with the game tonight [against Chinese Taipei]," Johnson said.
"But once we know where we land we'll get the dates of the next match. That will be in February but it will be one of two match days. As soon as we have confirmation of what that match day is we'll be looking for the biggest stadiums available for the Matildas to play in."
When asked about the prospect of the Matildas rocking the MCG, Johnson said: "It would be exciting, wouldn't it? And we fancy our chances of selling it out."
Millions of Australians were swept up by Matilda mania during this year's FIFA Women's World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
In front of record-breaking crowds and TV audiences, the Matildas defeated Ireland, Canada, Denmark and France.
They lost to England 3-1 in the final, but Sam Kerr scored a breathtaking solo goal that instantly became an iconic moment in Australian sport.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.