Road to 2023 Para Asian Cup begins for CommBank ParaMatildas

The CommBank ParaMatildas will commence laying the foundations for the 2023 Para Asian Cup this week with a three-day training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra from 19 - 21 May 2023. 

Head Coach Kelly Stirton has called up 16 players for the second training camp of 2023 with six Member Federations represented. 

It will be the first time the CommBank ParaMatildas have come together since March’s announcement of the men’s and women’s 2023 IFCPF Asia-Oceania Championships (Para Asian Cup).  The tournaments will take place at the world-class Home of the Matildas at La Trobe University in Melbourne from 31 October – 12 November 2023.

With a home tournament on the horizon, Stirton is eager for the preparations to begin for her team.

“It's definitely exciting news for us all.  You can feel the anticipation for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ and it is sensational that the CommBank ParaMatildas will also have the chance to experience a tournament on home soil in the same way,” Stirton said.   

“The Para Asian Cup is our pure focus this year and being able to play in front of our home crowd is something special. However, preparation is going to be key. All our activity, all our planning and behind-the-scenes work will be geared towards ensuring the players are as best prepared as possible to shine on this stage and it starts with this camp.”

While many of the training camp members are now familiar faces in the CommBank ParaMatildas environment, the 12 months since the silver medal-winning run at the IFCPF Women’s World Cup has seen an injection of new talent inspired by the exploits of the 2022 team. 

The May camp alone sees nine players who we not involved in that historic campaign and for Stirton it speaks to the impact of the CommBank ParaMatildas and the talent just waiting for their opportunity. 

“Since the World Cup, we've had probably a good ten or so players come in which is something that we didn't really expect,” Stirton explained. 

“We thought the impact would happen slowly, but it's come in at full force which is sensational.  They've always wanted to play sport in a national team environment and now they are coming in and demonstrating just what potential there is across para-football in Australia.

“From the players selected from this camp and the February camp what is evident is that we are going to be team that evolves into a much more dynamic team.  Our established players are complimented by the new faces, and it opens up the possibilities with teammates they can feed off.

“The injection of fresh faces has been such a breath of fresh air for us and the girls knowing that they've got a lot more capable players out there who they can feed off, and it's a challenge for them as well.

“They're all fighting for positions and that's a pretty exciting thing. It's a coach's headache, but to have that many good players out there, it's also good to challenge to have,” she concluded. 

Follow the CommBank ParaMatildas journey to the Para Asian Cup at paramatildas.com.au to stay up to date on all training camps, squad announcements and features.

Football Australia acknowledges the Australian Sports Commission in supporting the high-performance pillar of our Legacy ’23 Plan, designed to provide pathways for the Women’s National Team Programs.

COMMBANK PARAMATILDAS SQUAD | AIS TRAINING CAMP | 15 - 19 MAY

* First camp