West Ham United women’s team will jet off to Western Australia on Saturday 24 August, and defender Kirsty Smith is excited about the prospect of playing for the Hammers out in Perth.
Smith and her teammates head Down Under to take part in the inaugural Perth International Football Cup, a pre-season tournament that will see them face PSG in their opening match on Thursday 29 August, as well as one of fellow English sides Manchester City or Leicester City on Sunday 1 September in either the final, or third place play-off match.
The women’s team are heading abroad on tour for the first time and will be following a similar schedule to that of the men’s first team when they visited Perth in the summer of 2023.
Alongside a lot of hard work on the training ground and the two fixtures, the team will also have the opportunity to explore Perth and take part in a number of activities and visits.
Over the course of the last seven seasons since the team turned professional, a total of four senior Australians have represented the Club and the Matildas, meaning there are strong links between Australia and east London.
The new WSL season is just over four weeks from beginning, with Rehanne Skinner’s side heading to Old Trafford to face Smith’s former employers Manchester United on the opening day of the 2024/25 campaign.
Smith believes that the trip to Australia will help the team with their preparations for the upcoming season and is excited about the prospect of facing solid opposition in front of the West Ham supporters that are based out in Perth.
We’re on the eve of our pre-season trip to Australia! How much are you looking forward to the trip?
“It’s really exciting to be going over to Australia and put on a show for all of our fans over there and play some really challenging games.
“Throughout all of pre-season we are going to be working on getting together, making sure we put things right on the pitch and get into a flow, and I think that’s part of pre-season, that you gel as a team and get ourselves ready for the upcoming season.
“I’ve never been to Australia to play football but have been a few times on holiday. I’ve not been to Perth yet, so I’m looking forward to that.”
How’ve you enjoyed pre-season so far?
“It’s been really good to be back working with the team, and it’s been nice to see everyone again. It’s just been good to get back into the swing of things. It was good to have a break over the summer, but you miss football, so it’s been nice to get back to work, even if it’s a lot more difficult throughout the pre-season.
“The big part of pre-season is getting game time and playing a lot of games that are going to challenge us in different ways, so it will be interesting to go over there and get some games.”
We’re playing in the Perth International Football Cup, which will feature two other English Women's Super League clubs in Manchester City and Leicester City and Paris Saint-Germain – how big a challenge will these games be?
“Obviously we are going to face two of them in the upcoming season, but I think PSG [Paris Saint-Germain] will be another tough challenge, and it’s always good to test yourself against unfamiliar opposition and adjusting to that. I think in pre-season it is about us and building the foundations for the season ahead.
“It will be really exciting to play in front of the West Ham fans, and it’s important to know that we have supporters following us, so it will be good to put on a show for them and have a day that they can enjoy watching us play football.”
Tickets are available now for Hammers fans here!
