The Junior Matildas' quest for Asian championship glory will begin in Cessnock in April next year.
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Cessnock has been named as a host venue for the first round of qualifying matches for the 2022 Asian Football Confederation Under-17 Women's Championships.
The matches are scheduled to be played in April 2021, and will feature the Junior Matildas and up to four other Asian teams.
Up to 10 fixtures may be held at Cessnock Sportsground, while Turner Park at Aberdare and Weston's Rockwell Automation Park have been proposed as prospective training sites.
Football Federation Australia (FFA) welcomed the decision by the AFC on Friday that its bid to host qualification tournaments for the under-17s and under-20s women's championships had been successful.
Shepparton, in regional Victoria, will host the first round of under-20s qualifying matches (featuring the Young Matildas) in March.
FFA chief executive officer James Johnson said hosting these tournaments was an important milestone for the development of football in Australia.
"On behalf of the Australian football community, I would like to extend our thanks and gratitude to the AFC for granting Australia the hosting rights for these important youth women's football tournaments which will be held next year," Johnson said.
"The hosting of these two tournaments aligns with our desire, espoused within the XI Principles for the future of Australian football for Australia, to become the centre of women's football in the Asia-Pacific region.
"We are excited that our future stars will have the chance to play for Australia on home soil and to showcase their talent in front of friends and family.
"It also our great pleasure to bring international football to the communities in Shepparton and Cessnock and we hope to provide more opportunities for Australian communities, particularly those in regional areas, to share in the spectacle of the world game."
Cessnock mayor Bob Pynsent is excited that Cessnock will be once again hosting elite-level teams from the round-ball code.
In recent years Cessnock has hosted the Japanese national football team (in a pre-competition camp before the 2015 Asian Cup) and Newcastle Jets trial matches, and has also been named as a proposed base camp option for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
"Cessnock Sportsground is a fantastic facility and we're extremely pleased to host the qualifiers," Cr Pynsent said.
"It's a great opportunity for our community to witness talented athletes and expose some of our own aspiring young sports men and women to this level.
"We look forward to working closely with AFC to ensure the event is COVID-safe for all, including the athletes, officials and spectators."
Johnson said the FFA is very aware of potential issues related to COVID-19 and will continue to work with the local councils in the host towns, and the state and federal governments, to ensure that the health and wellbeing of all participants, as well as members of the community, are protected during these tournaments.
"We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation nationally and internationally," he said.
"With these games to be held in 2021 we hope and expect that the situation locally and within the Asian region will have improved by the kick-off of these tournaments.
"We will always put the health and wellbeing of the host community, players, officials, and fans first in relation to these important qualifiers."
The Junior Matildas will find out which teams they will take on in Cessnock when the official draw for the qualifying rounds is conducted later this year.
The qualifying rounds will determine the eight teams that will compete in the AFC under-17 women's championship tournament in April 2022 (with the host nation to be announced).
The top three teams will then qualify as the AFC representatives for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.