Westfield Matildas bound for Turkey ahead of 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup™

The Westfield Matildas will utilise the same elite training base that the Caltex Socceroos did prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ in Russia ahead of their 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ campaign in France.

Ante Milicic’s squad will arrive in Antalya, Turkey, on May 19, and will spend 10 days on Turkey’s south coast with access to leading high-performance training, sports science, and recovery facilities. 

Milicic was part of the Caltex Socceroos coaching staff when Australia's men utilised the region’s first-class facilities and warm climate to prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
 

After taking charge of Australia’s senior women’s side, Milicic and Football Federation Australia (FFA) considered a range of pre-competition destinations, but have now settled on one of Turkey’s top training centres ahead of the Matildas' France foray.

“Antalya will be the perfect destination for our team to prepare for the forthcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup,” Milicic said. 

“The Caltex Socceroos have utilised the base twice over the past year and because of that we know exactly what to expect. 

“From pristine training pitches to the absolute latest in sports-science facilities, our base will provide our players with an unrivalled opportunity to prepare in the lead up to our Group C games.”

FFA’s head of national teams, Luke Casserly, said the organisation is pleased to have been able to secure the elite training site for the Westfield Matildas ahead of the Women’s World Cup.

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“Over the past 10 months we have fostered a great relationship with representatives from the training site in Turkey, which helped us to secure the facility for the Westfield Matildas’ 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup pre-camp,” Casserly said.

“The familiarity that many of our staff now have with the destination will help to make the camp smooth and successful for the team,” he said.

Further information regarding the Westfield Matildas’ pre-2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup plans will be released over the coming weeks.