Wauhop Park Revamp Boosts Women’s Soccer Access
The Cook Government continues to prioritise community sporting infrastructure and encourage female participation in sport, with upgrades at the Wauhop Park soccer ground in East Fremantle complete.
The park is home to the Fremantle City Football Club, who can now make use of newly built changerooms for women, as well as upgraded existing changerooms.
Other improvements made at the park include the construction of player dug outs, fencing, goals and match day seating on two pitches, as well as gym improvements, a new scoreboard and new public address system.
The Cook Government committed $1.1 million to the project, including $300,000 through the Women’s World Cup Legacy Grants, with additional funds contributed by the local government and Fremantle City Football Club.
A further $100,000 was committed at the 2025 State Election to upgrade lighting at the ground.
The facility improvements support increased social inclusion for women and girls of all ages, helping them to reach their full potential and eliminate barriers to women’s participation in the sport.
Participation in football has increased by more than half in five years, growing from around 51,000 participants in 2019-20 to nearly 80,000 in 2023-24.
As stated by Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti:
“We know the enormous physical, social and emotional benefits sport provides to our community.
“With more women playing sport in Western Australia than ever before, it’s essential our local clubs and associations are supported to cater for this growth, particularly with appropriate changeroom facilities.
“We’re really proud as a government to be investing record amounts in community sporting infrastructure and continuing to reduce the barriers for women participating in sport.”
As stated by Bicton MLA Lisa O’Malley:
“More local girls and women are taking up the world game.
“I’m proud to support levelling the playing field for local women and girls.”
As stated by Fremantle MLA Simone McGurk:
“On any given weekend or weeknight, Wauhop Park is full of hustle and bustle as a major sporting hub for our local community here in Fremantle.
“These upgrades are fantastic and will give more local women and girls the opportunity to enjoy spending time at Fremantle City FC and reaching their full potential on the field.”
https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook Labor Government/Wauhop-Park-upgrades-level-playing-field-for-women