Football Australia's James Johnson calls for stadiums review ahead of 2032 Olympics and potential FIFA World Cup bid

Football Australia Chief Executive James Johnson has called for a rethink of the venues that will host the football tournament during the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games, warning that fans will miss out as the chosen grounds are "not big enough".

Speaking to members of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee late last week, Johnson called for the expansion of existing venues after the recently concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand smashed attendance records, with sell-out crowds of 75,784 recorded for five matches at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.

Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, with a capacity of 52,500, is likely to be the venue for major football matches during the Olympic tournament. It hosted eight matches during the Women’s World Cup, with three of the clashes drawing sell-out crowds.

Johnson also highlighted that Australia would need to invest in stadium infrastructure if it was to move with a potential bid for the 2034 edition of the men’s FIFA World Cup.

Having missed out on hosting the 2022 edition, which went to Qatar, Football Australia has, according to reports, been assessing the potential of a bid for 2034 for the last two years and is buoyed by the success of co-hosting this year’s women’s tournament.

Football Australia is also bidding to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2026.

With the Women’s World Cup having reported average of 32,000 fans for each game, many of the venues currently suggested for the men’s and women’s Olympic competitions appear unlikely to be large enough. These include the 42,500-seat Allianz Stadium in Sydney, 30,000-capacity AAMI Park in Melbourne, 27,400-seat Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast and 25,000-capacity Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville.

Other stadiums under consideration include Barlow Park in Cairns, Sunshine Coast Stadium and Toowoomba’s Clive Berghofer Stadium, all of which have capacities of 20,000 and under.

Referring to a possible bid to host the men’s FIFA World Cup in 2034, Johnson advised “the question for us is can some of the decisions that are being taken right now with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games - can they be taken with a future men’s FIFA World Cup in mind so that there is no leakage of investment?

“We have not had any consultation with 2032 to this point, and we hope that we will in the months and years to come. In my view, the stadia available are not big enough for football. I can categorically say that.

“If this is what is the case for 2032, there are going to be hundreds of thousands of fans and community members that are not going to be able to watch the Matildas or the Olyroos. They’re not going to be able to watch great global teams like the US women’s national, or the Lionesses or Brazil, or Argentinian men’s team.

“To put it into perspective, at the recent FIFA Women’s World Cup, there were 1.9 million attendees across Australia and New Zealand, which represented huge growth from the last FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019.”

Noting that Australia’s opening match of the recent tournament against the Republic of Ireland was shifted from Allianz Stadium to Accor Stadium to accommodate demand, Johnson noted “we are currently in the race to host an AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2026 and we are putting together our strategy around a potential bid for a men’s FIFA World Cup in 2034. If we are looking forward to how we host the 2032 football side of the tournament, we know that we will have more than 25,000 people in the stadium.

“We saw it at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, averaging 32,000 per match, so 25,000 is a very small stadium for football. That is one example of where we could potentially invest and make a bigger stadium that could be part of a men’s FIFA World Cup bid in the future.”

Johnson went on to say “in my view, the stadia available (for 2032) are not big enough (and) if this is what is the case for 2032, there are going to be hundreds of thousands of fans that are not going to be able to watch the Matildas.”

Referencing the Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Johnson added that it “would not be able to be included in a future men’s World Cup bid because the minimum stadium requirements for a group stage match in a men’s World Cup is 40,000.”

Images: Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium is currently proposed as the likely venue for major matches during the 2032 Olympic football tournament (top), Football Australia Chief Executive James Johnson (middle) and the Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville (below).