
Home of the Matildas at La Trobe University
La Trobe University will be welcoming the CommBank Matildas at The Home of The Matildas facility ahead of their send-off match at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on 14 July 2023, before they embark on their FIFA Women’s World Cup™ journey.
The Commonwealth Bank Matildas will have their very own purpose-built, high-performance home base. The facility will be available for the team's exclusive use whenever they are in camp, providing an elite training environment that caters to every need the team requires as the pre-eminent facility in the region.
In addition, Australia's other national teams, including the Young Matildas, Future Matildas, Socceroos and Olyroos will also utilise the training facility, to support their aspirations on the world stage.
“[La Trobe] have done really well to put everything together and it's going to be exciting to see it all come alive. It's going to be amazing for the advancement of women's football especially in Australia and Victoria,” said Commbank Young Matilda Naomi Chinnama.
The Home of the Matildas is part of the La Trobe University Sports Park, a world-class precinct for teaching, research, community participation and elite sport.
The development of the Sports Park will also feature the facility’s showpiece pitch – a FIFA-standard hybrid - has been laid, with a further hybrid and three FIFA-standard synthetic pitches to be added in the first stage.
CommBank Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson expressed that the facilities would be comparable to the world’s best facilities available to women.
“All those little details that matter in a high-performance environment, they’ve thought about it all. I’m really impressed.”
Football Victoria Director and Football Australia Legacy ‘23 Ambassador Azmeena Hussain believes the facility will help support the drive for equity in football.
“This facility is incredible. It provides so many opportunities to upskill women in football… to participate not just on the pitch, but also in sports administration and leadership opportunities.”
La Trobe’s establishment of The Home of the Matildas at the La Trobe University Sports Park is a reflection of the University’s excellence in Sports education and the deep commitment to gender equality.
La Trobe is ranked in the Top 50 worldwide for sports-related subjects[i] and in the Top 10 worldwide for gender equality, measuring the University’s research on the study of gender equality, policies on gender equality, and commitment to recruiting and promoting women[ii].
The Home of the Matildas project is being funded as part of a $101 million investment by the Andrews’ Labor Government into the La Trobe University Sports Park, with the $42.29 million for The Home of The Matildas the biggest investment ever made by any level of government for a football-specific project in Australia.
[i] Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), 2022, QS World University Rankings by Subject 2022: Sports-Related Subjects
[ii] Times Higher Education (THE), 2022, Impact Rankings 2022: gender equality

La Trobe Sports Park
A world-class sports park for teaching, research, community, and elite sport.