On Tuesday, world football governing body, FIFA, announced the appointment of two Chief Operating Officers (COOs) in Australia and New Zealand respectively for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 that will be jointly hosted by both countries.
Last year, the pair took up the initial appointment to lead the FIFA Women’s World Cup office in their respective host countries. Now, Jane Fernandez has officially been named as the COO for Australia, with the New Zealand COO position going to Jane Patterson, officially too.
The Australian Fernandez led Football Australia’s successful joint bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Upon a successful bidding, she was appointed Head of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Office for Australia. Her vast background in organising successful competitions include her time in 2015 as Head of Sport for the Australian Olympic Committee and Tournament Director of the AFC Asian Cup.
Patterson, on the other hand, has worked on sports events across Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Her background includes a wide range of world championships in netball, BMX, para-swimming and taekwondo and major events including the Ironman Triathlon and the New Zealand Open golf tournament.
Five years ago, Patterson was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of her achievements in service to sport. She has also worked for New Zealand Football as Project Director for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
At the announcement of the duo as COOs, FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura said: “Today’s announcement adds to the excitement around the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. We are delighted to welcome Jane Patterson and Jane Fernandez on board as Chief Operating Officers for the competition.
“Their skill, experience in leading multi-talented teams and passion for football will be key to ensuring the delivery of the FIFA Women’s World Cup at the highest level.”
In a reaction to FIFA’s announcement, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Football Australia James Johnson remarked: “We are delighted that Jane Fernandez has been appointed to this prestigious and important position, and that her vast knowledge and skillset will continue to be utilised by FIFA for the biggest sporting event to be held on Australian soil since Sydney 2000.”
In New Zealand, Andrew Pragnell, CEO of New Zealand Football added: “New Zealand Football are thrilled to see Jane Patterson confirmed as Chief Operating Officer (New Zealand) for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Jane has done a stellar job to date as Project Director for the Initial Operating Phase and we are delighted to see her continue to bring her wealth of knowledge and experience to the tournament.”
In their new roles, the newly-appointed COOs will oversee the operational aspects of the World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand while overseeing the logistics to make sure things run smoothly and optimally for a successful tournament.
The year 2023 will make it the first year in the body’s history that the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be co-hosted across two confederations. The other epochal news is that the number of teams participating will increase from 24 at the eighth edition of the competition in France 2019, to 32 in 2023.
The filling of the COO roles leaves one big one unfilled but the recruitment process is on for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) role for the tournament. Details have been posted on the careers section of FIFA.com and on the Football Australia and New Zealand Football websites for applicants desirous to take the honour to turn in their applications and qualifications.
