Bunbury to host 2025 edition of football’s women’s Country Championships

Bunbury will host the 2025 edition of football’s women’s Country Championships.

Country Football WA announced on Friday the competition will be staged at the newly redeveloped Hands Oval from October 1 to October 3 as part of a partnership with the City of Bunbury.

The move will see the championships played outside of the greater Perth area for the first time.

Country Football WA competitions manager Brent Sheridan said the organisation was thrilled to be taking the “showcase event” to the South West.

“The Women’s Division of the Championships brings the best players from regional WA—from Kununurra to Esperance—to one destination and really is a celebration of female football in Country WA,” he said.

“The opportunity for the best female players in Country WA to play at an AFL-quality facility like Hands Oval is not something that comes around too often, and we are extremely grateful to the City of Bunbury for assisting in bringing this to life.”

Bunbury mayor Jaysen Miguel said being selected as the first regional city to host the championships was a source of pride.

“We cannot wait to get down to our newly redeveloped Hands Memorial Oval and see the best female AFL players from across the State, right here in Bunbury,” Mayor Miguel said.

“This is just the latest sign of confidence and interest in Bunbury and our impressive sporting facilities, and we thank and congratulate Country Football WA for bringing the championships to our beautiful city.

“We look forward to welcoming hundreds of players, support staff and fans for the event, which will also provide incredible social and economic benefits for Bunbury.”

The women’s championships were first played in 2019 and the South West have dominated the competition to date, ending all five editions as the winners, including the last two which have seen the introduction of a two-division format.

Last year’s championships were played at Mandurah’s Lane Group Stadium, with teams representing the Kimberley, Peel, Great Northern, Great Southern, North Pilbara, Esperance and Goldfields regions competing alongside the South West.