The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 have announced the nine host cities and ten stadiums in New Zealand and Australia that will host the games during the World Cup competition.
It was also revealed that John Nicholl was elected as Head of Commercial Revenues of the FIFA Women’s World Cup which is to be held in 2023.
John Nicholl on his appointment expressed: “I am delighted to be joining the organisation and to help deliver such a prestigious tournament. The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the premier sporting event for women, and to be given the chance to host it in Australia and New Zealand and put on an entertaining event for all our stakeholders is an opportunity not to be missed.”
He further added, “The FIFA Women’s World Cup represents an incredible prospect for commercial partners, one that will provide brands with a hugely exciting opportunity to not only engage and reach new audiences and communities, but also an event that will provide milestone moments in football history that will reach far beyond what happens on the pitch. I look forward to working with forward-thinking organisations who share our vision for this event.”
With only about two years left until the best players will face off in the tournament that is jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia.
It is also worth mentioning that this will be the first time for the Women’s World Cup to take place in the Southern Hemisphere and the first-ever senior FIFA event to take place in Oceania and the first-ever FIFA event to take place across numerous confederations.
Host Cities for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023
FIFA declared the final host cities and forums selection on March 31, 2021 to which a total of nine cities were selected. Five cities from Australia and four cities from New Zealand.
- Adelaide (Australia) – Hindmarsh Stadium (Capacity: 16,500)
- Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau (New Zealand) – Eden Park (Capacity: 50,000)
- Brisbane (Australia) – Brisbane Stadium (Capacity: 52,500)
- Dunedin / Ōtepoti (New Zealand) – Dunedin Stadium (Capacity: 30,748)
- Hamilton / Kirikiriroa (New Zealand) – Waikato Stadium (Capacity: 25,800)
- Melbourne (Australia) – Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (Capacity: 30,050)
- Perth (Australia) – Perth Rectangular Stadium (Capacity: 22,500)
- Sydney (Australia) – Stadium Australia and Sydney Football Stadium (Capacity: 45,000)
- Wellington / Te Whanganui-a-Tara (New Zealand) – Wellington Stadium (Capacity: 34,500)
Opening Match & Final Match- Where will it be held?
Additionally, after disclosing the host cities; FIFA also announced that the opening match will be held in Eden Park in Auckland and as for the final match, it’ll be held in the Stadium Australia in Sydney.
It was also revealed that Australia and New Zealand will host one semi-final match with the full playoffs list for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 expected to be announced by the end of 2021.
Talking about the selection process of the Host Cities for the Women’s World Cup 2023, Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, remarked:
“The appointment of the 9 Host Cities represents a major milestone for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, as well as for players and football fans across Australia, New Zealand and around the world.”
He continued, “Building on the incredible success of France 2019 both on and off the pitch, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and 9 Host Cities across Australia and New Zealand will not only showcase the world’s very best players, but will also provide a powerful platform to unite and inspire people, transform lives and create a lasting legacy for women’s football in Australia and New Zealand and around the world.”
When is the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023?
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is scheduled to be aired from 20th July to 20th August 2023.
How many teams will compete for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023?
It was increased from 24 to 32 teams for the 2023 Women’s tournament which will be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. These 32 teams must face each other during the qualifying round. Since Australia and New Zealand are the co-hosts, they are exempted and need not play the qualifying matches. Each country can select to qualify through its own confederation’s qualifying procedure. Such as;
- Asian Football Confederation
- South American Football Federation
- Union of European Football Association
- Oceania Football Confederation
- Confederation of African Football
- Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football
The qualifying process started on September 16, 2021, and will go on till February 23, 2022. You can watch the latest match on Paramount +.