Thursday 20 April 2023
The NSW Government is putting out the call to recognise and celebrate Australia’s greatest female athletes at Accor Stadium.
The people of NSW will help decide who is honoured in Accor Stadium’s eastern grandstand by nominating a female sporting legend through the NSW Government’s Have Your Say page.
The eastern grandstand is the main public seating area of the stadium and closest to the major public transport links to Sydney Olympic Park.
The public’s nominations will be assessed by a college of judges drawn from the sport, government and media industries, before a recommendation is made to the NSW Government.
The process will be managed by Venues NSW, which in January unveiled a sculpture of a female cricket legend Belinda Clark at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the first such recognition of a female cricketer in the world.
Once the immediate Accor Stadium project is complete, Venues NSW will continue to implement its athlete recognition program in the five sporting precincts, six stadiums and two entertainment centres it manages in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said: “Celebrating Australia’s greatest female athletes was one of our election commitments that I am proud we can take swift action on.
“I want to encourage everyone to jump online and have their say.
“It could be a vote for Louise Sauvage or Cathy Freeman and their amazing success at Sydney 2000, or the more modern stars whose excellence has driven elite women’s sport into the mainstream.
“There are so many amazing female athletes who are deserving of this honour and the timing is perfect when NSW hosts the Matilda’s first match at the biggest sporting event in the world this year, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023TM.”
Minister for Women Jodie Harrison said: “This will be hugely important recognition for women in sport in Australia, and for girls who are looking to emulate their sporting heroines.
“These female athletes make the same sacrifices and put in the same incredible effort as men and deserve to be just as widely celebrated.
“We have front row seats to the rise of an exciting new era in women’s sport and it’s important that we recognise the female legends who made this possible.”
Minister for Sport Steve Kamper said: “This will be just the first major recognition program at Accor Stadium, where we have seen some of world sport’s greatest moments.
“We have sculptures of Belinda Clark, Marlene Matthews and Betty Cuthbert at Moore Park, please help us decide which female sporting legend is worthy of a similar honour at Accor Stadium, NSW’s home of major events.”
Nominations can be made at www.nsw.gov.au/have-your-say from Thursday 20 April to Thursday 18 May 2023.
