Very few people know the name of Jane Fernandez. She is not one to draw attention to herself or to boast about her successes. But if you are an Australian football fan, you almost certainly know who Jane Fernandez is.
Yes, you must have seen that photo of him. You know the one: it was taken inside Football Australia headquarters in the early hours of June 26, 2020, when FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that Australia and New Zealand were co-hosts of the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Broke a split second after the announcement, the photo captures the reaction of the lucky few who are in the room: fists clenched, hands waving in the air, faces wide with joy. And there, right in the middle, leaping higher than anyone else, was the creator of it all: Jane Fernandez.
"I'm still claiming that I kicked Alana Kennedy out," Fernandez laughed while speaking to ESPN's The Far Post podcast. "We'll have to jump in when she comes back to Australia at some point.
"Matilda was phenomenal. Lydia [Williams], oh my god, the look on her face.
"The day was very stressful. There was this energy all around us - this anticipation - because we had a sense of where we might be located amongst all those who have to vote... but we didn't know, and You'll never know until you vote.
"Relief is actually a cool word to use. It took a while to sink in; it was a mixture of joy and relief because we had worked so hard and for so long on it.
"I've also worked on the men's [2022 World Cup] bid, so I lived that experience, and so it was like: 'After all, we worked very hard and we actually won the gold medal.'
"That's what we were saying: It was like we won the gold. You work so hard, if you want, and you put so much into it, and then you get the gold."
It's been exactly a year since that iconic moment, and while much hasn't been publicly announced yet, Fernandez and his team are working tirelessly behind the scenes to lay the groundwork for the next two years.
This includes a new role for Fernandez himself, from an employee of Football Australia now working for FIFA to Australia's chief operating officer for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Fernandez said, “I am responsible for all the major functional areas of the tournament, making sure all the building blocks are in place, ensuring that we are meeting the standards and requirements that are included in the millions of agreements. " .
"Everyone who is working in the tournament will be employed by the local body, which is owned by FIFA ... So, in fact, we are all part of FIFA; we are like a team. So I think That even helps, knowing that we're all on the same team, we're all building together.
“But it is bigger than just 64 first-class football matches. We want to capture hearts and minds; we want to make this tournament a cultural festival. We want to make sure that we celebrate all the different festivals that take place in the winter. Across Australia, making sure everyone is shopping at Vision, delivering against Vision, and delivering the best FIFA Women's World Cup ever. So here we are. "
So, what does a day in Fernandez's life look like now?
"A lot of meetings, and especially because it's all [Microsoft] Teams or Zoom," she said. “Very late night calls – although I must say it is worse for my colleagues in NZ depending on the time zone.
“What we focused on last year – the first real priority – was to set up this local entity. So it was like helping to give advice, between governments, between lawyers, in-between advice. FIFA Zurich team, and is actually coordinating the response to that.
"The other important thing that went on at the same time was the selection of host cities and the selection of stadiums. In the bidding, we put forward 13 places, but 10 have been selected out of nine host cities in Australia and New Zealand. Zeeland. But there was a lot of work in preparing and presenting to FIFA as they could not be here to select.
"And then, after that, the recruitment drive. We're like a start-up, really; it's around setting up the team, appointing the heads of departments, which we're halfway through. I think I've Have done around 70 interviews easily. So it took a lot of time. It's really a start-up, so setting the foundation to make sure we are ready for success. That's what this phase is all about."
The other major milestone for Fernandez and his team is the inspection tour after FIFA's first win, which is due next week. But, as has happened everywhere in the past 18 months, the coronavirus pandemic has stymied the works.
"Fifa would normally have happened twice this past year so far in Australia and New Zealand," Fernandez said. “We are about to start our FIFA inspection tour, so the FIFA team is currently inspecting New Zealand; they flew from Zurich to New Zealand, left them for 14 days, and they are currently inspecting [there].” are.
"And as of yesterday, we had to completely rebuild our itinerary for FIFA due to the recent COVID outbreak and the impact of the border on it.
“So now we are on a brief overview, making sure we can take FIFA crews to every city they need to go. We believe – fingers crossed – that we have done that, but we have to Being flexible and agile means that some of us may not be able to move to all cities just based on needs.
“Before this most recent COVID outbreak, we had expected to be able to show them many host cities and what they had to offer. Not much time, though, I must say: it would get a lot more on a plane, land. , go to the hotel, then the next day go to the stadium, go to the training sites, get on the plane, go to the next city.
"However, in some cities - like right now, we'll end up in Sydney - they will have the opportunity to showcase a few more places."
Every emotion.
— AsOne2023 (@AsOne2023) June 25, 2020
An unforgettable moment.
We did it. #AsOne pic.twitter.com/VQSMpPRk4p
Once the FIFA oversight is over, Fernandez and his team will move on to the next phase of the operational plan. That's when fans will start seeing the tournament come alive, she says.
"There will be a lot of milestones - the deliverables - that will all come together at the same time," she said. "So it's really important to put the right players in the right positions [and] build trust with the team; they know what they have to offer.
"So we're going into the operational phase, really, where we start to develop the concept of operations, how are we going to deliver tournaments in Australia and New Zealand, making sure we deliver a tournament like that. Where there is a coherent look and feel.
"One of the other key things FIFA is focused on with us at the moment is building the brand for the tournament. The behind the scenes work around this has begun, which is exciting. It's in its infancy at the moment. But these kinds of things -- these important milestones -- will come sooner than we think. Hopefully we can start promoting that backend this year and then, those milestones are really rough and Coming fast.
"There's a lot of work to do and we want to make sure we can start telling the story of the Women's World Cup and start building on that, to make sure there's awareness.
"The gates are scheduled to open on time on July 20 [2023]. There's no delay."