The FIFA (www.FIFA.com) Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ is already a resounding success, just six days into the tournament, thanks to record attendances, more than 1.5 million tickets sold, competitive matches and a festive atmosphere in the two host nations.
With the tournament capturing the hearts and minds of both home and visiting fans, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has thanked the two host nations for their efforts in raising the profile of women’s football to an unprecedented level on a global scale.
The opening day, Thursday, 20 July, saw more than 117,000 fans pack Eden Park in Auckland and Stadium Australia in Sydney. The 42,137 who attended New Zealand’s opening night defeat of Norway in Auckland was an all-time high for a football match – for women or men – in the country, while the 75,784 fans in
Sydney for Australia’s match against the Republic of Ireland was the highest attendance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup™ for 24 years. After only six days of the tournament, FIFA had already exceeded its target by selling more than 1.5 million tickets for the 64 matches.
After Tuesday’s game between Korea Republic and Colombia completed the first round of matches, the total attendance over the first 16 games was 459,547 with an average of 28,721—a 54% increase compared to the first 16 games of the previous tournament in France in 2019. The FIFA Fan Festivals, which are being organised for the first time at a FIFA Women’s World Cup, are also proving popular.
