The Australian city of Melbourne will host a wide range of top-level sports in the coming years

MELBOURNE has earned a reputation as the sporting capital of the southern hemisphere.

Having weathered some of the world’s toughest lockdown restrictions, the multicultural Australian city is now open and ready for business – and will be home to many high-profile sports for years to come.

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SunSport spoke to Brendan McClements, CEO of Visit Victoria, about the future sporting landscape in the state of Victoria.

TENNIS

Another Australian Open will come to a close this weekend as Melbourne Park welcomed back fans without Covid regulations.

The men’s and women’s tennis calendars Down Under begin in late December and run throughout January.

Talk to the leading players and despite the distances they have to travel, they happily go there for Grand Slam action.

It has often been speculated that the event could be taken away and held in a wealthy country in the Far or Middle East, but chiefs in Australia are confident, not complacent, that this will not happen.

McClements, who has worked in sports administration for cricket and basketball, said: “Every year there is a country of some form that has unlimited wealth and real ambitions to build their global presence around major events.

“We’ve seen that with China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Dubai or Qatar. Still, Victoria had the ability to understand the competitive landscape.

“Melbourne has a history in tennis, there is a cultural significance here. You can have great confidence in the support of the crowd that shows up every year.”

There are already 16-hour direct flights between London and Perth, and a direct service from the UK to Melbourne is planned within the next decade.

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FOOTBALL

The Women’s World Cup will take place in nine cities in Australia and New Zealand from July 20th to August 20th.

Melbourne Rectangular Stadium will host six games of the 32-nation tournament.

The Lionesses, led by captain Leah Williamson, won the finals of Euro 2022 last summer and then defeated the United States, the two-time reigning world champions, 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley last October.

Last month, the derby between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City was marred by an ugly turf invasion that saw City goalkeeper Tom Glover hit in the head by a bucket thrown by a fan.

However, McClements says fans traveling to Oz should not have any concerns about fan violence, saying: “It was an isolated case and the governing bodies acted very quickly and seriously to address it. They were on top.

“There shouldn’t be any concerns. The sport has taken it seriously and put in place strict restrictions. I don’t think we’ll see that again.”

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CRICKET

The Melbourne Cricket Ground, which can seat more than 100,000 people, is one of the most famous sporting venues in the world.

Boxing Day cricket tests are “one of the biggest sports days in Australia,” says McClements.

This Christmas it’s Australia vs Pakistan, which will be an ideal television experience for those in the UK who can’t stray too far from the sofa after stuffing all the turkey.

2025 will see England there for the Ashes and the Aussies can’t wait to see if the electric combination of captain Ben Stokes and trainer Brendon McCullum is still in charge.

Memories of Stokes’ amazing stroke will be fresh when England won the men’s ICC T20 World Cup in MCG last November.

McClements said, “We’re all interested to see if ‘Baz-Ball’ survives until then as the game continues to evolve and change

“Especially because English cricket sometimes has its own way of feeding itself. But we’re all excited to see the Ashes in the UK this summer and when they return to Australia again.”

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MOTORSPORTS

The Australian Grand Prix returns to the Albert Park street circuit on Sunday 2nd April.

After being canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic, it was held last year and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took the checkered flag.

More than 423,000 people attended over four days – a record number for the event – and McClements said: “That was a significant moment – we are a sports-loving state.

“We project ourselves into the world through our sport. The return of the Grand Prix was a big celebration.

“New South Wales has been very public about its pursuit of F1. Her minister and her bidding group flew secretly to England to try and lock this up.

“But Melbourne delivers everything that F1 fans want to see. It’s very well managed, the drivers love to come here. Our contract runs until 2037.”

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RUGBY UNION

Eddie Jones is back in town after taking charge of Australia’s rugby union team for the second time.

No sooner had he been sacked by England for poor results than the Wallabies hierarchy rushed in and signed him.

Although based in Sydney, Jones will regularly travel to Victoria to watch the Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby competition at AAMI Park.

There’s a strong possibility that England and Australia could meet in the knockout stages of the World Cup in France later this year – and Jones could well get his revenge on the RFU bosses.

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COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Birmingham hosted successful Commonwealth Games in July and August.

The landscape and concept of the whole Commonwealth could change or evolve following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne.

The state of Victoria will host the March 2026 games, with the regions of Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland, Melbourne and Shepparton hosting events.

McClements said: “The next Commonwealths will allow us to showcase parts of Victoria that have incredible sporting infrastructure and culture. We can deliver games that unite people.”

Visit www.visitvictoria.com for more information