The Embassy of Sweden caught football fever in Australia and New Zealand
The Embassy of Sweden started to engage with Football Australia at an early stage to explore possibilities to increase visibility for women’s football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
During their visit to Australia in February the Their Royal Highnesses Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel met with the Matilda’s Head coach Tony Gustavsson and players in his team. In fact, eleven of the players in Australia’s national squad play for clubs in the Swedish top division Damallsvenskan – a showcase of the strong people-to-people relationships existing between Sweden and Australia.
Once the tournament was underway the Embassy attended several games including the bronze medal match between Sweden and Australia. The matches were not only an opportunity to cheer for our Swedish team and to connect with fans but also to meet Australian and New Zealand officials. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton were both present for the final game in Brisbane.
Together with the Embassy of Italy the Embassy organized a pub screening of the Sweden-Italy game. In conjunction with the tournament the Embassy also participated in a gender equality symposium in Brisbane as well as an event on football and diplomacy organized by Football Australia and the New Zealand High Commission in Canberra.
The Embassy thanks and congratulates the hosts Australia and New Zealand for organizing an extraordinary World Cup and for lifting women’s football to new hights. We congratulate the Swedish and Australian teams for amazing performances and thank the Swedish Football Federation, the Sweden-Australia Chamber of Commerce, our Swedish honorary consulates and all the individual enthusiasts that contributed to making the World Cup a big party for Swedish fans.
Per Linnér
