2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Everything You Need to Know

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Everything You Need to Know

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: A Guide for Fans

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the biggest tournament in women’s soccer. It brings together the top national teams to compete every four years. The 2023 is the 9th edition will make history in several ways. Let’s look at what fans need to know.

Hosts: Australia and New Zealand 

For the first time, two countries will co-host the Women's World Cup - Australia and New Zealand. FIFA chose them together as the hosts in 2020. This is groundbreaking because it's the first World Cup held across two different confederations. Australia is part of Asia and New Zealand is part of Oceania.  

The co-hosting will showcase both countries and grow the game in the Asia-Pacific region. It will also bring the two neighbors closer together.

Locations: 10 Stadiums Across 9 Cities

Matches will take place in 10 stadiums spread over 9 cities in Australia and New Zealand. The stadiums are located in:

- Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, and Dunedin in New Zealand

- Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth in Australia

The stadium sizes range from 18,000 seats up to 83,500. Some are famous venues used for rugby, cricket, Aussie rules football, and other sports. Their histories and atmospheres will provide diverse experiences for players and fans.

Schedule: 64 Matches From July 20 to August 20

The tournament will kick off on July 20, 2023 with the opening match at Eden Park in Auckland. New Zealand will face Norway in this first game. 

The final match will happen on August 20 at Stadium Australia in Sydney. All up there will be 64 matches over about one month.

Each team plays at least three group stage matches. The top two teams in each of the eight groups move on to the knockout round of 16 teams. From there, the tournament proceeds with quarterfinals, semifinals, third place, and final.  

With the time zone difference between Australia and New Zealand, match times will vary from noon to evening. Fans can find the full schedule on FIFA's website.

Teams: 32 Nations From Around the World 

A record 32 teams will compete from six regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, North/Central America, Oceania, and South America. The 2019 Women's World Cup had only 24 teams.

The expansion provides more opportunities for women's soccer globally. It also increases competition and tournament quality.

Host countries Australia and New Zealand automatically qualified. The other 30 spots were earned through qualifying tournaments from 2019 to 2022. Over 150 teams were involved in regional qualifiers.

Some of the biggest women's soccer powers that qualified are the United States, Germany, England, France, Brazil, and more. See the full list of 32 teams on FIFA's website. 

The draw was held on April 29 at the Sydney Opera House. The teams were put into eight groups of four based on rankings. Check out who each team will face in the group stage.

What to Watch For

There are many exciting storylines and players to follow at the 2023 Women's World Cup:

- Can the US women's team win a third straight World Cup? They are always a top contender with stars like Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.

- Hosts Australia and New Zealand will try to make a deep run on home soil. The Matilda's Sam Kerr and Football Ferns' Ali Riley are ones to watch. 

- European giants like Germany, France, England, Spain and Sweden aim to end the US dominance. 

- Canada, Brazil, Japan, and China also hope to capture their first World Cup crown.

- Young stars like Spain's Alexia Putellas, England's Lauren Hemp, and Canada's Jessie Fleming could have breakout tournaments.

- Underdog teams from Africa, Asia, South America, and Oceania look to pull off some upsets.

Off the Field

Beyond the matches, there are other interesting things happening around the 2023 Women's World Cup:

- Record attendance is expected with over 1.5 million tickets sold. The 2015 World Cup had 750,000 fans. 

- The purse for the 2023 tournament will be $60 million, double the prize money from 2019.

- All matches will be broadcast worldwide, reaching more viewers than ever before.

- There will be concerts, festivals, and other cultural events around the host cities. 

- Tourism between Australia and New Zealand is predicted to boom with thousands of international visitors.

The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup aims to take women's soccer to new heights. It promises to be a historic tournament showcasing the growth of the game. And most importantly, it will deliver thrilling and competitive matches between the best in the world.