Tauranga might turn orange next July following the announcement that the Netherlands women's football team will base themselves out of the Bay Oval for next year's FIFA Women's World Cup.

New Zealand is co-hosting the women's football showpiece alongside Australia from July 20 - August 20 next year and a host of cities and locations were put forward for base camp selection in September.

Some of the game's best players will therefore be training and living around the Bay for a large chunk of next year, including Daniëlle van de Donk, Lieke Martens and Arsenal goal-machine Vivianne Miedema.

Not only are they a world-class team on the pitch but the Dutch side also take with them an often vociferous and vocal support - so Mount Maunganui may turn Orange for a few weeks next year.

Tauranga City AFC chairperson Brendon McHugh played a role in helping bring the Dutch to Tauranga - meeting with delegates from different countries in October alongside staff from Tauranga City Council and FIFA.

'The Netherlands was a country I thought was the perfect fit for our location,” says Brendon, who even asked one of the club's Dutch members to join the discussions when the Dutch team visited.

'I think our involvement in this process was a huge part of their decision to choose Tauranga.”

Brendon thinks the visit of a team of the Netherlands' standing is huge for the Bay of Plenty.

"I don't think New Zealand really grasps the enormity of this event. Tauranga hosting the Netherlands is massive for our region and we're looking forward to collaborating with other clubs to make them feel welcome and interact with the team when possible.”

Despite basing themselves in Tauranga, the Netherlands are not due to play any fixtures at next year's World Cup at the nearest possible venue - Hamilton's Waikato Stadium. Instead, they will play two fixtures at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin and will also take on world champions the United States in Wellington in their Group E fixtures.

Bay Oval will now undergo extensive renovation to meet ‘FIFA Team Base Camp Training Site' standards, supported by $115,000 of the Government's $19 million investment in upgraded sporting facilities promised as World Cup co-hosts.

It is another big success for the venue, who hosted seven matches of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup earlier this year - including the tournament opener.

Speaking in September, when first shortlisted as a potential Base Camp, Bay oval general manager Kelvin Jones stated:

'We've already established ourselves as one of the Bay of Plenty's premier event venues, and this will help us gain recognition further afield,” he said.

'Our staff will rub shoulders with some of the best in the industry - it's going to be great for our team as well as the local community.”

Other locations hosting base camps for teams include six in Auckland, two each in Wellington and Christchurch and one apiece for Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin.

Rotorua International Stadium was also previously shortlisted as a potential base but was not among the locations named by FIFA on Monday.

However, one of the remaining three teams left to qualify via a Play-Off Tournament in February will be based in New Zealand and is yet to have their base camp location announced.

Other remaining shortlisted options include Napier (McLean Park) and two more in Auckland (McLennan Park and Mangere Central).

-Article originally published by Mathew Nash/Match of the Bay.