Ballarat's Lauren Riddel didn't get to play much soccer as a girl.
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Growing in a small industrial city in the UK, she was forced to play in a boys team, as a girls program wasn't available.
Moving to Australia changed that.
Now serving as a community bid ambassador for the 2023 Women's World Cup, she has been helping generate local interest to help Australia's bid to host the event get over the line.
It's her hope to boost the game here so young girls get the opportunity she didn't.
Yesterday her efforts, along with many other ambassadors' was rewarded.
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"I think Australia is just such an amazing place for opportunity and now we have a massive opportunity for women and girls who want to play soccer," she said.
Early Friday morning, Australia and New Zealand won the rights to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The joint bid won the hosting rights ahead of Colombia, which was the only other rival in the running after Brazil and Japan dropped out of the race earlier this month.
After being appointed a community bid ambassador by Football Victoria in October, Riddel said she would continue to drum up support for the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Her ultimate goal is to see Ballarat become a training base for one of the 32 counties, set to compete for soccer's ultimate prize.
"I understand Ballarat is very much an AFL town, but for young girls to see stars of this magnitude and a platform to reach would be an amazing thing, and that's what I'd like to see Ballarat become," she said.
Over the coming months, Riddel will look to engage with clubs and local government bodies to get the ball rolling.
"I've been pestering a lot of people with emails and I've got a few councilors lined up over the phone to have a chat with to see what we can do as a community," she said.
Australia claimed 22 of the 35 votes to edge out Columbia to host the event.
Ballarat based Elisabeth Bridson, who is well respected in soccer circles, said she set an alarm on Friday morning to wake up and hear the verdict.
"The first thing I did when I woke up was look at the news and I did a little jiggle of delight," she said.
Up until last year, Bridson was a referee assessor and instructor on the technical committee of Football Federation Victoria.
After moving to Ballarat two and a half years ago, she said the city had the facilities necessary to be a training base for the event.
"The facilities are a great starting point. It's a world class pitch and I think it would be a great thing for Ballarat as a whole," she said.
"Every time there is a men's world cup the interest rises and the same happens with the women.
"It's the world game so lots of cultural stuff happens, so there is the opportunity to tie in with other organisations and bring interest into the city."