Excitement is building ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, which starts in just 100 days. Organisers have announced that they are on course to sell a record 1.5 million tickets, with over 650,000 already sold for the event in Australia and New Zealand.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup will see the Republic of Ireland compete in the tournament for the first time in history. Ireland will be amongst 32 other countries, and is set to be the biggest and best in history, according to Fifa Secretary General Fatma Samoura.
Speaking about the ticket sales, Samoura said: "Ticket sales for the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 are off to a great start and it’s not just home fans in Australia and New Zealand purchasing tickets. Fans residing in the United States of America, England, Qatar, Germany, China PR, Canada, the Republic of Ireland and France are the top 10 purchasers of Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 tickets so far."
The tournament, which begins on 20 July and runs until 20 August, is predicted to attract a global television audience of two billion viewers, with Fifa hoping that more than 100,000 fans will attend the opening day of the event.
New Zealand will play 1995 winners Norway at the 50,000 capacity Eden Park in Auckland, while Australia will face the Republic of Ireland at the 83,500 capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney. The demand for tickets has been so high that Australia's opening match against Ireland has been moved to a larger venue to accommodate more fans.
This is the ninth edition of the Women's World Cup, with the first tournament held in China in 1991, won by the United States. Since then, the competition has grown in popularity and size, with the 2023 edition being the biggest yet, featuring 32 teams across 64 matches at 10 different venues in nine cities across Australia and New Zealand.
Eight teams will be making their World Cup debuts this year, including Portugal, Vietnam, and the Republic of Ireland. Denmark will also be returning after a 16-year absence. Meanwhile, seven teams will be ever-presents, having appeared at all eight previous tournaments. These include the United States, Germany, and Japan, among others.
Zambia, ranked 77th in the world, are the lowest ranked team at the tournament, while the most sought-after match of the tournament is predicted to be the final, taking place at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
The first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-Off Tournament takes place in February at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton/Kirikiriroa and North Harbour Stadium in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand. The Play-Off Tournament will feature 10 nations competing for the final three spots in the tournament.
