Tilda Fone number one Matilda's fan

The Matilda’s biggest fan, Tilda Fone has been sent by Football in the Capital to follow the team wherever they go.
She arrived in Beijing a little late, but quickly found the team and sent this report back from her mobile deep in the smog of Beijing.


Ni hao from China. I spotted the Matildas at the Chinese FA national training centre, in Yianghe, 90 minutes from Beijing.

Smog, smog, and more smog, can’t be good for our team.

The centre is like the AIS but specifically for football - five perfectly manicured natural turf playing pitches, a FIFA standard artificial turf pitch, athletics track, indoor swimming pool, spas and saunas, big gym, entertainment area (including bowling alley and small cinema), hotel-style rooms and restaurant. And it's rather warm here. OK, so it's really nothing like the AIS. Apart from being a bit far away from anything, it's the perfect location for a training camp.

The Matildas are preparing for their huge game against DPR Korea on Sunday. Although DPRK is a renowned holiday destination with plenty of resorts and tourist attractions, the Matildas decided to train in China before heading to Pyongyang on Saturday (2 June).

The Matildas thought I’d go straight to North Korea, but I’m not their greatest fan for nothing!

Airport check-in desks are very friendly to me!

Getting my report of the match out of Korea could be difficult, at this stage I don’t know if I’m able to get into North Korea, they tell me flights are fully booked.

Still, I’ve never missed a match yet so I’m confident I’ll get there.

So, the Matildas will all be off the radar for a few days with no mobile or email contact with the outside world. It will be weird…..for them, but I should get something out after the game.

If I make it to Pyongyang, I expect to be minded by a special friend, who will take me for walks and stuff.

I’ll definitely be back for the next game; it’ll be a cracker. Coffs Harbour on Sunday 10 June, 3pm, to see the return match between the Matildas and DPR Korea. Arguably these two games are the most important games ever played by the Matildas, the winner takes all, that is, a berth at the Olympics next year. For the Matildas it's just like the Socceroos v Uruguay qualifier. But if you can't get there to the ground, the next best thing is to watch it live on SBS that day.

Speak soon
Tilda.