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Leading women's coach Joe Montemurro says the Matildas would benefit from having a base in Europe, with the majority of Australia's top players now based there.
Arsenal Women coach Joe Montemurro says the Matildas would benefit significantly from having a national team base in Europe.
The majority of Australia's top women's footballers are now playing in England or elsewhere on the continent, meaning return trips to Australia for internationals and camps would involve lengthy preparation and recovery periods.
Montemurro, who coaches Matildas trio Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Lydia Williams in the FA Women's Super League, said coronavirus restrictions travel restrictions could present an opportunity to base certain camps and friendlies in Europe.
"The COVID travel restrictions are what they are now but I think they are going to continue in some form or another - so I think that's the first tick in regards to having the Matildas probably not fly as far or have a central base they can access quite quickly and quite easily," Montemurro told AAP.
"They are going to be under pressure with their clubs to perform.
"So when on an international break you've got to fly 24 hours, take two days of jet-lag to recover, do a couple of sessions, play a couple of games then have to fly back.
"It could take up to a week for these players to integrate back into the team and you're probably running the risk of maybe losing your spot."
Commercial agreements are among the factors tying certain Matildas games and camps to Australia.
But Montemurro said scheduling some opportunities in Europe would open the door to play games against some of Europe's finest.
"The general welfare of the players - for them to perform at the highest level, for them to be at their best - really needs to be taken into consideration," Montemurro said.
"With 75 per cent of the nominated squad (here) - I don't know what the squad's going to look like in the future - having a base here in Europe and having long-term scenarios in Europe over 2-3 years, it makes a little bit of sense.
"So we've got to understand - do we maximise performance or do we maximise the commercial value?
"And I'm talking performance because you'll get to play the best teams in the world.
"Between (the Netherlands), England, Spain, Germany, Sweden (and) Norway - you've got big games at the door step."
Montemurro, who has been linked to the vacant Matildas coaching job, was confident Australian players would reap the rewards of Europe's longer seasons and high-stakes games.
"The realities of a 30-40 game season, brutal winters, quick turnarounds, high-pressure finals, high-pressure semi-finals, high-pressure games, competition at training - (it) is real football," he said.
"For our national team and for these players to be better, they need to be exposed to the realities of what high-end football is and they're going to get it every day and I can only see improvement."
