Australia and New Zealand to Host FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023!
Football Federation Australia (FFA) and New Zealand Football (NZF) will jointly host the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
With a focus on the players, both associations have promised to deliver record-breaking crowds and long-term participation growth, spruiking their ‘As One’ campaign tagline to celebrate women’s football on a global scale.
The trans-Tasman bid beat out Colombia’s bid by 22 votes to 13. The tournament will be the first-ever co-confederation-hosted FIFA World Cup (Australia is part of the Asian football confederation, and New Zealand a member of the Oceanic branch), as well as the first FIFA Women’s World Cup held in the Asia-Pacific region.
In another bonus for the host nations, the Matildas and the Football Ferns will not be required to win qualifying matches, and are automatically through to the opening round of the tournament.
Matildas’ captain and athlete Sam Kerr believes the announcement will inspire a new generation of young Matildas to play football. She said, ‘The opportunity to play in a home FIFA Women’s World Cup is something every footballer dreams of, and I am looking forward to seeing those dreams come true. Playing for the Matildas in Australia will be the highlight of my career and an opportunity to inspire girls, both in Australia and New Zealand, and all over the world, to play football. We have seen great progress in the women’s game and Australia-New Zealand will take the game to a whole new level.’
Football Ferns’ captain Ali Riley echoed Kerr’s delight, stressing that the players-first approach will produce great benefits for the tournament.
‘As players, we have been in close contact with both FFA and NZF to develop a tournament which will enable players to deliver their very best on the field. To lead the Football Ferns in a home FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand will be truly special, and inspire a new generation of Football Ferns.’
We’re looking forward to catching the action on the foundation, as well as the on the girls’ feet! We’ll be watching the big brands with intent to see what they have in store for their performance football lineups leading up to 2023.