An exciting week of elite women’s football will take over Perth this August with the first-ever Perth International Football Cup presented by Ninja. The pre-season cup tournament will see Women’s Super League sides Manchester City Women, West Ham United and Leicester City as well French Division heavyweights Paris Saint Germain compete for the inaugural Perth International Football Cup presented by Ninja. All four sides are glittered with Matildas players as well as European and North American superstars of the world game.
This will be the first time any of these sides have visited Australia and speaks volumes about the growth of the women’s game globally. The Perth International Football Cup presented by Ninja will see two semi-finals at HBF Park, with the opening game taking place between Manchester City and Leicester City on Wednesday 28 August. This will be followed up the next day by West Ham United taking on Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday 29 August.
Sunday 1 September will see Optus Stadium host a thrilling doubleheader of action with the semi-finals winner taking on each other with the other two teams playing beforehand.
Manchester City narrowly missed out on their first league title since 2016 this season with the Cityzens missing out on the final day to Chelsea on goal difference. The squad features a host of international talent including Matildas stars Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy as well as 2023-24 WSL Player of the Season and WSL top goal scorer Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw.
Leicester City are one of the newest teams in the WSL, making their debut in the 2021-22 season. The young squad is highlighted by Matildas’ player Courtney Nevin who joined the Foxes at the start of last season. The club made their first FA Cup semi-final appearance this season, where they went down in extra time.
On the other side of the draw is West Ham United who are headlined by their Australian captain and goalkeeper, Mackenzie Arnold and Australian midfielder, Katrina Gorry. Gorry has since become one of the key pillars of the Australian side with her heroics in the FIFA Women’s World Cup last year seeing her claim the highest number of tackles of any player with 59 challenges, and also covering the most ground at 57.68km.
Paris Saint-Germain are one of the biggest women’s sides in world football with six domestic titles and have reached two UEFA Champions League finals. The Parisians finished second in Arkema Première Ligue this season and boasts an array of talent including Clare Hunt and former FIFA Women’s player of the year, Lieke Martens.
Presenting partner Ninja who is a global leader in highly functional, innovative kitchen and outdoor products, has joined forces with this exciting event as it’s a perfect brand alignment. Ninja’s mission is to positively impact people’s lives as do these international sporting events and sporting stars.
Corporate Hospitality packages available now from VIP NOW (www.vipnow.com.au) and General Admission Tickets start from $9.00 for children and $29.00 for adults and go sale 9AM AWST this Friday 28 June from Ticketek.
Match Details:
Matchday 1
6:15PM, Wednesday 28 August 2024
Manchester City W.F.C vs Leicester City W.F.C.
HBF Park
Matchday 2
6:15PM, Thursday 29th August 2024
West Ham United F.C. Women vs Paris Saint-Germain
HBF Park
Matchday 3 – Doubleheader
Sunday 1 September 2024
2:05PM, Loser Semi Final 1 vs Loser Semi Final 2
5:05PM, Winner Semi Final 1 vs Winner Semi Final 2
Optus Stadium