The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by women's national teams and organised by FIFA. The tournament is jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and is taking place from 20 July to 20 August 2023.[1][2] It is the first FIFA Women's World Cup to have more than one host nation, and also the first World Cup to be held across multiple confederations, as Australia is in the Asian confederation, while New Zealand is in the Oceanian confederation. In addition, this tournament is the first to feature the expanded format of 32 teams from the previous 24, replicating the same format used for the Men's World Cup from 1998 to 2022.[1]

The opening match was contested between New Zealand and Norway at Eden Park in Auckland on 20 July 2023. The final will take place on 20 August 2023 at Sydney Olympic Stadium in Sydney.[3] The United States are the defending champions, having won the previous two tournaments in 2015 and 2019.[4]

Overview

The FIFA Women's World Cup is a professional association football tournament contested by senior women's national football teams, organised by FIFA.[5] The tournament, held every four years and one year after the men's World Cup, was first played in 1991 in China, and has since been expanded to 32 teams following the 2023 edition. The tournament is contested with eight round-robin groups followed by a knockout round for 16 teams. The defending champions are the United States, who defeated the Netherlands 2–0 in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Final.[6][7] The event is scheduled to take place over a period of a month, from 20 July to 20 August in Australia and New Zealand. This Women's World Cup is the first co-hosted tournament, and also the first seniors World Cup to be held across multiple confederations. In addition, it is the first seniors tournament to be held in Oceania, the first Women's World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere, and the third to be held in the Asia-Pacific region.

Schedule

The match schedule was announced by FIFA on 1 December 2021,[8][9] with kick-off times confirmed on 24 October 2022, two days after the final draw.[10][11]

The opening match of the tournament, with co-hosts New Zealand vs. Norway, was played on 20 July at Eden Park. The inaugural match in Australia, with co-hosts Australia vs. Republic of Ireland, took place on the same day at Stadium Australia, after a venue change due to strong ticketing demand.[12]

The group stage fixtures are split between the co-hosts, with New Zealand hosting Groups A, C, E and G, and Australia for Groups B, D, F and H.[13] The third-place match will be played at Lang Park on 19 August, with the final to be played at Stadium Australia on 20 August.[13]

Prize money

In June 2023, FIFA announced the prizes for all participating nations. This edition's total prize pool is US$110 million, US$80 million greater than the prize pool of the previous tournament.[14]

At previous tournaments, as well as in the men's competition, FIFA have paid total prize money to the national associations, but for the 2023 Women's World Cup will give prize payments directly to players as well as the associations. This came as a result of reports in the women's game that a number of national associations were withholding competition prize money from players and/or not paying them at all.[14] In March 2023, global player union FIFPRO sent a letter signed by players from around the world to FIFA, challenging FIFA to make prize money in the men's and women's tournaments equal and to ensure at least 30% of prize money in the women's tournament made it to the players. While FIFA did not match the prize money of the men's tournament, it did significantly increase it, with more than half set to be paid to players directly.[15]

Just before the tournament, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that the player payments would still be paid to the associations, and that FIFA planned to audit the associations to make sure the money got to the players. Football administrator Lise Klaveness expressed concern over what she felt sounded like reneging on the promise, both for the players and for FIFA's credibility.[16]

Place Teams Amount (USD)
Per association Per player Total
Champions 1 $4,290,000 $270,000 $10,500,000
Runners-up 1 $3,015,000 $195,000 $7,500,000
Third place 1 $2,610,000 $180,000 $6,750,000
Fourth place 1 $2,455,000 $165,000 $6,250,000
5th–8th place (quarter-finals) 4 $2,180,000 $90,000 $17,000,000
9th–16th place (round of 16) 8 $1,870,000 $60,000 $26,000,000
17th–32nd place (group stage) 16 $1,560,000 $30,000 $36,000,000
Total 32 $110,000,000

Host selection

Bidding began for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on 19 February 2019.[17] Member associations interested in hosting the tournament had to submit a declaration of interest by 15 March, and provide the completed bidding registration by 16 April. However, FIFA revised the bidding timeline as the tournament expanded to 32 teams on 31 July.[18] Other member associations interested in hosting the tournament then had until 16 August to submit a declaration of interest, while the completed bidding registration of new member associations and re-confirmation of prior bidders was due by 2 September.[19]

Nine countries initially indicated interest in hosting the events: Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, South Korea (with interest in a joint bid with North Korea), New Zealand and South Africa.[20] Belgium expressed interest in hosting the tournament following the new deadline but later dropped out, as did Bolivia, in September 2019.[21][22] Australia and New Zealand later announced they would merge their bids in a joint submission.[23] Brazil, Colombia, and Japan joined them in submitting their bid books to FIFA by 13 December.[24] However, both Brazil and Japan later withdrew their bids in June 2020 before the final voting.[25][26]

On 25 June 2020, Australia and New Zealand won the bid to host the Women's World Cup.[27] The decision came after a vote by the FIFA Council, with the winning bid earning 22 votes, while Colombia earned 13.[28] Neither country had previously hosted a senior FIFA tournament. This will be the first Women's World Cup to be hosted in multiple countries, and only the second World Cup tournament to do so, following the 2002 FIFA World Cup, held in Japan and South Korea. It is also the first FIFA Women's World Cup to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first senior FIFA tournament to be held in Oceania, and the first FIFA tournament to be hosted across multiple confederations (with Australia in the AFC and New Zealand in the OFC). Australia is the second association from the AFC to host the Women's World Cup, after China in both 1991 and 2007.[29]

2023 FIFA WWC bidding
Bidding nation(s) Votes
Round 1
Australia & New Zealand 22
Colombia 13
Recused 2
Total votes 35
Majority required 18

Format

In July 2019, FIFA President Gianni Infantino proposed an expansion of the Women's World Cup from 24 to 32 teams, starting with the 2023 edition, and doubling the tournament's prize money.[30] The proposal came following the success of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and the prior edition of the tournament in 2015, which after increasing from 16 to 24 teams set an attendance record for all FIFA competitions besides the men's FIFA World Cup.[31] Expanding the tournament to allow eight additional participating teams gave more member associations a greater opportunity to qualify for the final tournament. This fostered the growing reach and professionalisation of the women's game.[32]

On 31 July, the FIFA Council unanimously decided to expand the tournament to 32 teams, featuring eight groups of four.[18]

The astounding success of this year's FIFA Women's World Cup in France made it very clear that this is the time to keep the momentum going and take concrete steps to foster the growth of women's football. I am glad to see this proposal becoming a reality.

The tournament opens with a group stage consisting of eight groups of four teams, with the top two teams progressing from each group to a knockout tournament starting with a round of 16 teams. The number of games played overall increases from 52 to 64. The tournament replicates the format of the men's FIFA World Cup used between 1998 and 2022.[33]

Venues

Map
[Interactive fullscreen map]
Host cities and venues of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

Australia and New Zealand proposed 13 possible venues across 12 host cities for the tournament in the bid book submitted to FIFA, suggesting a minimum of 10 stadiums be used—5 in each country.[34] The original proposal of the joint bid would have seen the venues divided into three main travel hubs: South Hub, containing Perth, Adelaide, Launceston, and Melbourne; East Hub, containing Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, and Launceston; and New Zealand Hub, containing Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. The Sydney Football Stadium was the only new stadium undergoing a major renovation during the bid period, replacing the old football stadium on the same site and opening on 28 August 2022.[35]

The bid evaluation was released on 10 June 2020 by FIFA, which noted that the majority of the stadiums listed in the bid meet FIFA's hosting requirements with capacity, aside from Adelaide and Auckland, which did not meet the minimum requirements capacity wise for stages of the competition proposed for.[36] Most stadiums featured in the bid are planned to have minor renovations with new floodlighting, pitch renovations,[37] and gender-neutral changing rooms in time for the tournament.[38]

On 31 March 2021, FIFA announced the final host city and venue selections. Five cities and six stadiums are used in Australia, and four cities and stadiums in New Zealand. From the proposed venues, Newcastle and Launceston were not selected in Australia and Christchurch was omitted in New Zealand. Eden Park in Auckland hosted the opening game, with Stadium Australia in Sydney to host the final match.[39][40] As a part of the branding, all cities will use native names (Indigenous Australian and Māori in New Zealand) alongside their English names in an effort to "reconcile and respect the original owners of the land."[41] They are: Tarntanya (Adelaide), Meanjin (written as Meaanjin; Brisbane), Naarm (Melbourne), Boorloo (Perth), Gadigal (Eastern Sydney; for Sydney Football Stadium), Wangal (Western Sydney; for Stadium Australia), Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Ōtepoti (Dunedin), Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), and Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington).[42]

Eden Park, Auckland, hosted New Zealand's opening match, and Stadium Australia, Sydney, hosted Australia's opening match (both group stages). Lang Park, Brisbane, will host the 3rd place match on 19 August; and Stadium Australia, Sydney, will host the final which will be held on 20 August.[43]

Australia Australia New Zealand New Zealand
Sydney Brisbane Auckland Wellington
Stadium Australia Sydney Football Stadium Lang Park (Brisbane Stadium) Eden Park Wellington Regional Stadium
Capacity: 75,784[44] Capacity: 40,583[45] Capacity: 49,461[46] Capacity: 43,217[47] Capacity: 33,132[48]
Melbourne Perth Adelaide Dunedin Hamilton
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium Perth Rectangular Stadium Hindmarsh Stadium Forsyth Barr Stadium (Dunedin Stadium) Waikato Stadium
Capacity: 27,706[49] Capacity: 18,727[50] Capacity: 13,557[51] Capacity: 25,947[52] Capacity: 18,009[53]

Team base camps

Base camps will be used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the Women's World Cup tournament. FIFA announced the hotels and training sites for the 29 qualified participating nations on 11 December 2022, with the remaining 3 qualified teams selecting their base camps after the Play-off Tournament.[54] FIFA later confirmed the last remaining three base camps for the Play-off Tournament winners on 21 March 2023.[55] It will be the first Cup to have dedicated base camps for the 32 participating nations.[56]

Team Hotel Training site
 Argentina Novotel Auckland – Ellerslie Michaels Avenue Reserve, Auckland
 Australia Rydges Brisbane – South Bank Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
 Brazil Best Western Hotel North Lakes Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex
 Canada Mercure Melbourne – Doncaster Olympic Park, Heidelberg West
 China Pullman Adelaide Croatian Sports Centre, Adelaide
 Colombia Mercure Sydney – Liverpool Marconi Stadium
 Costa Rica Distinction Christchurch Hotel Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub
 Denmark DoubleTree by Hilton Perth – Waterfront Kingsway Reserve
 England Crowne Plaza Terrigal Pacific Central Coast Stadium
 France Grand Mercure Hills Lodge Valentine Sports Park 1
 Germany Mercure Kooindah Waters Central Coast Regional Sporting & Recreation Complex
 Haiti Rendezvous Hotel Perth Scarborough Percy Doyle Reserve
 Italy Grand Millennium Auckland Shepherds Park
 Jamaica Novotel Melbourne – Preston Victorian State Football Centre
 Japan Rydges Latimer Christchurch Christchurch Stadium
 Morocco Lancemore Mansion Hotel Werribee Park Galvin Park Reserve
 Netherlands Trinity Wharf – Tauranga Bay Oval
 New Zealand Pullman Auckland Hotel & Apartments Keith Hay Park
 Nigeria Sofitel Brisbane Central Lions Stadium
 Norway M Social Auckland Seddon Fields
 Panama The Playford Adelaide – MGallery Adelaide United Training Centre
 Philippines Mövenpick Hotel Olympic Park Auckland
 Portugal Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre Māngere Centre Park
 Republic of Ireland Emporium Hotel South Bank Goodwin Park
 South Africa InterContinental Hotel Wellington Porirua Park
 South Korea Rydges Campbelltown Campbelltown Sports Stadium
 Spain Copthorne Palmerston North Massey Sport Institute Palmerston North
 Sweden NZCIS Accommodation Wellington NZ Campus of Innovation & Sport
 Switzerland Distinction Dunedin Hotel Tahuna Park
 United States Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour Bay City Park
 Vietnam Rydges Auckland Fred Taylor Park
 Zambia Novotel Hamilton – Tainui Korikori Park

Teams

Qualification

FIFA's confederations organised their qualifications through continental championships, with the exception of UEFA which organised its own qualifying competition. Australia and New Zealand, as co-hosts, qualified automatically for the tournament, leaving the remaining 207 FIFA member associations eligible to enter qualification if they chose to do so. Australia competed at the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, whilst New Zealand did not enter the OFC Women's Nations Cup the same year. The reigning Women's World Cup champions United States competed in qualification through the CONCACAF W Championship.[57][58]

The Chadian and Pakistani football associations were suspended by FIFA, thus excluding them from entering qualifications.[59] Rwanda, Sudan, DR Congo and São Tomé and Príncipe entered qualification but withdrew later.[60][61][62][63] Kenya withdrew before the second round of qualifiers.[64] North Korea and Turkmenistan withdrew from the Women's Asian Cup qualifiers due to safety concerns and travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[65] Iraq withdrew after the AFC draw.[66] Due to the uncertainty of women's sport after the Taliban takeover of the country, Afghanistan withdrew from qualification.[67] Due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreaks in their squads, Women's Asian Cup hosts India withdrew from qualification.[68] American Samoa withdrew due to continuing difficulties related to the pandemic.[69] Russia were disqualified from competing due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[70]

The allocation of slots for each confederation was confirmed by the FIFA Council on 25 December 2020. The slots for the two host nations were taken directly from the quotas allocated to their confederations.[71]

A ten-team play-off tournament decided the final three spots at the Women's World Cup. The play-off slot allocation was as follows:[72][73]

  • AFC (Asia): 2 slots
  • CAF (Africa): 2 slots
  • CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean): 2 slots
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 2 slots
  • OFC (Oceania): 1 slot
  • UEFA (Europe): 1 slot

Of the 32 nations qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, 20 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2019. Haiti, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia will be making their debuts at the FIFA Women's World Cup. This World Cup will be the first ever FIFA tournament the Philippines have taken part in. This is Panama's, Portugal's and Vietnam's first ever FIFA women's competition, having only taken part in various FIFA men's tournaments. Zambia made history as the first landlocked country in Africa to qualify for a World Cup for either sex. Morocco became the first-ever Arab country to qualify for the Women's World Cup, while the Republic of Ireland marked their first-ever debut at any senior women's tournament. Denmark made their first appearance in 16 years after missing three consecutive tournaments, their last appearance being in 2007. Costa Rica, Colombia and Switzerland returned to the tournament after missing the previous one in 2019. Italy qualified for two consecutive women's World Cups for the first time in their history, after three sporadic appearances in 1991, 1999 and 2019.[74][73] Africa will have four representatives for the first time in the competition's history.[75]

Thailand, Cameroon, Chile, and Scotland, all of whom qualified for the 2019 Women’s World Cup, did not qualify for the 2023 tournament. Iceland was the highest ranked team in the FIFA Women's World Rankings that failed to qualify, ranked 16th at the time.[A] Zambia were the lowest ranked team to qualify, ranked 81st at the time.[76]

  1. ^ North Korea, ranked 10th, withdrew from qualifications.

The qualified teams, listed by region, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the FIFA Women's World Ranking before the tournament were:[77]

AFC (6)

CAF (4)

CONCACAF (6)

CONMEBOL (3)

OFC (1)

UEFA (12)

  Team qualified
  Team failed to qualify
  Team withdrew or suspended
  Did not enter

Squads

Each team had to provide to FIFA a preliminary squad of between 35 and 55 players, which FIFA did not publish. From the preliminary squad, each team had to name a final squad of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by 9 July 2023. Players in the final squad could be replaced by a player from the preliminary squad due to serious injury or illness up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match.[78]

Draw

The final draw took place at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, on 22 October 2022 at 19:30 NZDT (UTC+13), prior to the completion of qualification.[79][80] The three winners of the inter-confederation play-off were not known at the time of the draw.[81]

Retired American international and 2-time Women's World Cup champion Carli Lloyd and CNN International sports presenter Amanda Davies conducted the draw. Each confederation had a retired international representing them as a draw assistant: Maia Jackman of New Zealand for the OFC and Julie Dolan of Australia for the AFC alongside men's internationals Ian Wright of England for UEFA, Alexi Lalas of the United States for CONCACAF, Geremi of Cameroon for the CAF and 2002 World Cup winner Gilberto Silva of Brazil for CONMEBOL. Snowboarding Olympic gold medalist Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand and 4-time swimming Olympic gold medalist Cate Campbell of Australia also assisted the draw.[82]

For the draw, the 32 teams were allocated into four pots based on the FIFA Women's World Rankings of 13 October 2022. Pot one contained both co-hosts New Zealand and Australia (both automatically placed in positions A1 and B1, respectively) along with the best six teams. Pot two contained the next best eight teams, with the next best eight teams being allocated into the following pot (pot three). Pot four contained the lowest ranked teams, along with the placeholders for the three inter-confederation play-off winners. With the exception of UEFA, teams from the same confederation could not be drawn in the same group. However, since each inter-confederation play-off group contained multiple confederations, the placeholders were identified by the seeded teams in their respective play-off pathways to avoid any draw constraints. The draw started with pot one and ended with pot four, with the team selected being allocated to the first available group alphabetically. Pot 1 teams were automatically drawn to position 1 of each group, with the following positions drawn for the remaining pots. The pots for the draws are shown below.[83]

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
 New Zealand (22) (co-hosts)
 Australia (13) (co-hosts)
 United States (1)
 Sweden (2)
 Germany (3)
 England (4)
 France (5)
 Spain (6)
 Canada (7)
 Netherlands (8)
 Brazil (9)
 Japan (11)
 Norway (12)
 Italy (14)
 China (15)
 South Korea (17)
 Denmark (18)
 Switzerland (21)
 Republic of Ireland (24)
 Colombia (27)
 Argentina (29)
 Vietnam (34)
 Costa Rica (37)
 Jamaica (43)
 Nigeria (45)
 Philippines (53)
 South Africa (54)
 Morocco (76)
 Zambia (81)
Winner of Play-off Group A[a]
Winner of Play-off Group B[b]
Winner of Play-off Group C[c]
  1. ^ The placeholder for the play-off Group A winners adhered to the geographical constraints of a European team in the draw (based on the seeded team in the group, Portugal). The Group A winner that eventually qualified was Portugal.
  2. ^ The placeholder for the play-off Group B winners adhered to the geographical constraints of a South American team in the draw (based on the seeded team in the group, Chile). The Group B winner that eventually qualified was Haiti.
  3. ^ The placeholder for the play-off Group C winners adhered to the geographical constraints of an Asian and Oceanian team in the draw (based on the seeded teams in the group, Chinese Taipei and Papua New Guinea, respectively). The Group C winner that eventually qualified was Panama.

Officiating

In January 2023, the FIFA Referees Committee announced the list of 33 referees, 55 assistant referees, and 19 video assistant referees (VAR) for the tournament. Of the 33 referees, FIFA included 2 each from Australia, Canada, South Korea, and the United States.[84]

France's Stéphanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan who became the first female referees to officiate the 2022 FIFA World Cup were among those selected for the Women's World Cup. They are also joined by female assistant referees Neuza Back, Kathryn Nesbitt, and Karen Díaz Medina, who also participated at the men's tournament.[84]

Heba Saadieh will become the first Palestinian and Arab female referee to officiate at a World Cup of either gender. Firas Abu Hilal, secretary general of the Palestinian Football Association labelled Saadia as "a role model for Palestinian women who aspire to achieve success and greatness" and that she "has proven the ability of Palestinian women to excel in any field".[85][86]

The VAR at the tournament will have the spoken explanations broadcast in the stadium and on television as part of a year-long trial of the technique intended to give more transparency to often-controversial decisions. Other sports with video referees already use the measure, with FIFA also having implemented it at the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup and 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[87]

Opening ceremonies

There were two opening ceremonies, one before each kick-off game in the two host nations on 20 July 2023.[88] The first took place at Eden Park, Auckland, ahead of the opening game of the competition between New Zealand and Norway.[89] The ceremonies both featured indigenous welcomes, fireworks, dancing and live music, before a moment of silence.[88] A few hours before the opening ceremony, a shooting occurred in downtown Auckland during which three people, including the assailant, were killed. A moment of silence was held for the attack victims.[90]

The Eden Park ceremony was noted to be very brief.[91] It began with Māori and indigenous Australian artists;[92] colour and culture representing the indigenous people featured in the ceremony, with a haka being performed as well.[93] There was a dance with groups of dancers representing each nation competing at the tournament, and a montage of star players from all the participants.[92] To close the ceremony,[91] New Zealand singer Benee and Australian singer Mallrat performed the tournament's official song, "Do It Again".[93]

At Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australian First Nations artists performed.[88]

Closing ceremonies

The tournament's closing ceremony will take place at Stadium Australia, Sydney, on 20 August 2023, ahead of the Final.

Group stage

Competing countries were divided into eight groups of four teams (groups A to H). Teams in each group play one another in a round-robin, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stage.[94]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Switzerland 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4 Advance to knockout stage
2  New Zealand (H) 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3
3  Philippines 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 3
4  Norway 2 0 1 1 0 1 −1 1
Updated to match(es) played on 25 July 2023. Source: FIFA
(H) Host
New Zealand 1–0 Norway
Wilkinson 48' Report
Attendance: 42,137
Philippines 0–2 Switzerland
Report
Attendance: 13,711
Referee: Vincentia Amedome (Togo)

New Zealand 0–1 Philippines
Report
Attendance: 32,357
Referee: Katia Itzel Garcia (Mexico)
Switzerland 0–0 Norway
Report
Attendance: 10,769

Norway Match 34 Philippines
Report

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Nigeria 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4 Advance to knockout stage
2  Canada 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
3  Australia (H) 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
4  Republic of Ireland (E) 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
Updated to match(es) played on 27 July 2023. Source: FIFA
(E) Eliminated; (H) Host
Australia 1–0 Republic of Ireland
Catley 52' (pen.) Report
Attendance: 75,784
Nigeria 0–0 Canada
Report

Canada 2–1 Republic of Ireland
Report McCabe 4'
Australia 2–3 Nigeria
Report
Attendance: 49,156

Republic of Ireland Match 36 Nigeria
Report

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain (A) 2 2 0 0 8 0 +8 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Japan (A) 2 2 0 0 7 0 +7 6
3  Costa Rica (E) 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 0
4  Zambia (E) 2 0 0 2 0 10 −10 0
Updated to match(es) played on 26 July 2023. Source: FIFA
(A) Advance to a further round; (E) Eliminated
Spain 3–0 Costa Rica
Report
Zambia 0–5 Japan
Report
Attendance: 16,111

Japan 2–0 Costa Rica
Report
Spain 5–0 Zambia
Report
Attendance: 20,983
Referee: Oh Hyeon-jeong (South Korea)

Costa Rica Match 38 Zambia
Report

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 2 2 0 0 2 0 +2 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Denmark 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3[a]
3  China 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3[a]
4  Haiti 2 0 0 2 0 2 −2 0
Updated to match(es) played on 28 July 2023. Source: FIFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Denmark 3, China 0.
England 1–0 Haiti
Stanway 29' (pen.) Report
Attendance: 44,369
Referee: Emikar Calderas Barrera (Venezuela)
Denmark 1–0 China
Vangsgaard 90' Report

England 1–0 Denmark
James 6' Report
Attendance: 40,439
China 1–0 Haiti
Wang Shuang 74' (pen.) Report

China Match 39 England
Report
Haiti Match 40 Denmark
Report

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  United States 2 1 1 0 4 1 +3 4 Advance to knockout stage
2  Netherlands 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
3  Portugal 2 1 0 1 2 1 +1 3
4  Vietnam (E) 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 0
Updated to match(es) played on 27 July 2023. Source: FIFA
(E) Eliminated
United States 3–0 Vietnam
Report
Attendance: 41,107
Referee: Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco)
Netherlands 1–0 Portugal
Van der Gragt 13' Report

United States 1–1 Netherlands
Horan 62' Report Roord 17'
Portugal 2–0 Vietnam
Report
Attendance: 6,645

Portugal Match 41 United States
Report
Vietnam Match 42 Netherlands
Report

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Brazil 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3 Advance to knockout stage
2  France 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1[a]
3  Jamaica 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1[a]
4  Panama 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 0
Updated to match(es) played on 24 July 2023. Source: FIFA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Fair play points: France –1, Jamaica –4.
France 0–0 Jamaica
Report
Brazil 4–0 Panama
Report
Attendance: 13,142
Referee: Cheryl Foster (Wales)

France Match 28 Brazil
Report
Panama Match 29 Jamaica
Report

Panama Match 43 France
Report

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Sweden 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3 Advance to knockout stage
2  Italy 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
3  South Africa 2 0 1 1 3 4 −1 1
4  Argentina 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 1
Updated to match(es) played on 28 July 2023. Source: FIFA
Sweden 2–1 South Africa
Report Magaia 48'
Italy 1–0 Argentina
Girelli 87' Report
Attendance: 30,889

Argentina 2–2 South Africa
Report

Argentina Match 45 Sweden
Report

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 1 1 0 0 6 0 +6 3 Advance to knockout stage
2  Colombia 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
3  South Korea 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0
4  Morocco 1 0 0 1 0 6 −6 0
Updated to match(es) played on 25 July 2023. Source: FIFA
Germany 6–0 Morocco
Report
Colombia 2–0 South Korea
Report


South Korea Match 47 Germany
Report
Morocco Match 48 Colombia
Report

Knockout stage

In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of 90 minutes of normal playing time, extra time will be played (two periods of 15 minutes each). If the score is still level after extra time, the winners will be determined by a penalty shoot-out.[94]

Bracket

 
Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
              
 
5 August – Auckland
 
 
Winner Group A
 
11 August – Wellington
 
Runner-up Group C
 
Winner Match 49
 
6 August – Sydney (Football)
 
Winner Match 51
 
Winner Group E
 
15 August – Auckland
 
Runner-up Group G
 
Winner Match 57
 
5 August – Wellington
 
Winner Match 58
 
Winner Group C
 
11 August – Auckland
 
Runner-up Group A
 
Winner Match 50
 
6 August – Melbourne
 
Winner Match 52
 
Winner Group G
 
20 August – Sydney (Australia)
 
Runner-up Group E
 
Winner Match 61
 
7 August – Sydney (Australia)
 
Winner Match 62
 
Winner Group B
 
12 August – Brisbane
 
Runner-up Group D
 
Winner Match 53
 
8 August – Adelaide
 
Winner Match 55
 
Winner Group F
 
16 August – Sydney (Australia)
 
Runner-up Group H
 
Winner Match 59
 
7 August – Brisbane
 
Winner Match 60Third place play-off
 
Winner Group D
 
12 August – Sydney (Australia)19 August – Brisbane
 
Runner-up Group B
 
Winner Match 54Loser Match 61
 
8 August – Melbourne
 
Winner Match 56Loser Match 62
 
Winner Group H
 
 
Runner-up Group F
 

Round of 16

Winner Group AMatch 49Runner-up Group C
Report

Winner Group CMatch 50Runner-up Group A
Report

Winner Group EMatch 51Runner-up Group G
Report

Winner Group GMatch 52Runner-up Group E
Report

Winner Group DMatch 54Runner-up Group B
Report

Winner Group BMatch 53Runner-up Group D
Report

Winner Group HMatch 56Runner-up Group F
Report

Winner Group FMatch 55Runner-up Group H
Report

Quarter-finals

Winner Match 49Match 57Winner Match 51
Report

Winner Match 50Match 58Winner Match 52
Report

Winner Match 53Match 59Winner Match 55
Report

Winner Match 54Match 60Winner Match 56
Report

Semi-finals

Winner Match 57Match 61Winner Match 58
Report

Winner Match 59Match 62Winner Match 60
Report

Third-place play-off

Loser Match 61Match 63Loser Match 62
Report

Final

Winner Match 61Match 64Winner Match 62
Report

Statistics

Goalscorers

There have been 60 goals scored in 27 matches, for an average of 2.22 goals per match (as of 28 July 2023).

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Source: ESPN

Assists

3 assists

2 assists

1 assist

Source: ESPN

Discipline

A player will be automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[94]

  • Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offences)
  • Receiving two yellow cards in two matches; yellow cards expire after the completion of the quarter-finals (yellow card suspensions are not carried forward to any other future international matches)

The following suspensions will be served during the tournament:

Player Offence(s) Suspension
Nigeria Deborah Abiodun Red card in Group B vs Canada (matchday 1; 21 July) Group B vs Australia (matchday 2; 27 July)
Zambia Catherine Musonda Yellow card Yellow-red card in Group C vs Japan (matchday 1; 22 July) Group C vs Spain (matchday 2; 26 July)
Jamaica Khadija Shaw Yellow card Yellow-red card in Group F vs France (matchday 1; 23 July) Group F vs Panama (matchday 2; 29 July)
Argentina Miriam Mayorga Yellow card in Group G vs Italy (matchday 1; 24 July)
Yellow card in Group G vs South Africa (matchday 2; 28 July)
Group G vs Sweden (matchday 3; 2 August)
South Africa Kholosa Biyana Yellow card in Group G vs Sweden (matchday 1; 23 July)
Yellow card in Group G vs Argentina (matchday 2; 28 July)
Group G vs Italy (matchday 3; 2 August)
China Zhang Rui Red card in Group D vs Haiti (matchday 2; 28 July) Group D vs England (matchday 3; 1 August)

Marketing

Branding

The official emblem was jointly designed by Toronto-based studio Public Address and Los Angeles-based Works Creative Agency and unveiled on 28 October 2021 during a live show. The emblem features a football encircled by 32 coloured squares, reflecting the expanded field of the tournament, and the natural terrains of the two host nations. The overall branding of the tournament will feature designs reflecting the host nations' Indigenous peoples, created by Australian artist Chern'ee Sutton and Maori artist Fiona Collis. Furthermore, the tournament's branding will also incorporate the native names of all host cities. Alongside the emblem, the official slogan of the tournament, "Beyond Greatness", reflects FIFA's goal for the event to further expand the prominence of women's football, was also revealed.[95][96] The names of the host cities in their native names (the local Indigenous Australian languages and Māori in New Zealand) were used as part of the official branding.[41]

Ticketing

Approximately 1.4 million tickets were sold or distributed by 19 July, setting a new tournament record. Sluggish sales in New Zealand resulted in 20,000 free tickets being issued by sponsor Xero.[97][98] [99]

Merchandise

FIFA 23 features the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup mode; the video game update was released on 27 June 2023, replicating the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament and featuring the 32 qualified teams.[100][101]

Broadcasting rights

The 2023 Women's World Cup was the first Women's World Cup to have its broadcasting rights sold as a standalone product rather than being packaged as a bonus of purchasing broadcasting rights for the Men's World Cup. FIFA stated that they saw "huge interest" in the separate bidding process and hoped for more regional partners to sign on. FIFA set an aim to reach a global audience of 2 billion, up from 1.12 billion at the previous edition in France.[102]

In October 2022, FIFA rejected multiple bids from various public and private broadcasters for what it described as significantly under-priced bids, urging broadcasters to bid more, saying it is what the women's game deserves.[103] Some European broadcasters were concerned about the timezone difference affecting viewership figures, something that was not an issue with the France-hosted 2019 Women's World Cup, while Gianni Infantino threatened a media blackout for Europe's "big five" (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain) if they did not offer more.[104] The issue was resolved by the middle of June, five weeks before the tournament, with all territories having deals.[105] A deal between Japanese broadcaster NHK and FIFA was announced for the last uncovered major market a week before start of the tournament.[106]

Sponsorship

FIFA partners FIFA Women's Football partners FIFA Women's World Cup sponsors Asia and Pacific supporters European supporters North American supporters South American supporters

Symbols

Mascot

The tournament's official mascot was unveiled on 19 October 2022. The mascot's name is Tazuni, which is a portmanteau of the Tasman Sea and "Unity".[133] It represents a little penguin (Eudyptula minor[133]), endemic to New Zealand — FIFA incorrectly stated this penguin (E. minor) was endemic in Australia, where a closely related species (Eudyptula novaehollandiae) was described as new and distinct in 2016.[134]

Match ball

Adidas OCEAUNZ

On 24 January 2023, The word "OCEAUNZ" was unveiled as the official match ball for the tournament by Adidas.[135]

OCEAUNZ's design is inspired by the unique natural landscapes of the two host nations, with visuals nodding to the vast mountains of New Zealand and Australia's connection with the Indian Ocean. Its name is a portmanteau based on the tournament's geographical location: Oceania, Australia, and New Zealand. OCEAUNZ features the same connected ball technology as was seen in Qatar at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This provides precise ball data, which will be made available to video assistant referees in real-time.[135] It was previously used at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Music

There are several official songs for the 2023 Women's World Cup. The official theme song, "Unity" by British DJ and music producer Kelly Lee Owens, was released on 28 October 2021 at the same time as the official emblem and slogan unveiling.[136] On 29 June 2023, the official song of the tournament, "Do It Again" by New Zealand singer Benee and Australian singer Mallrat, and its lyric video were released.[137][138] In July 2023, the "official walk-out track" for the matches at the tournament was revealed to be "Bring It On" by Australian singer Tones and I, American rapper BIA and French-Senegalese singer-songwriter Diarra Sylla.[139]

Other songs have been independently produced for the tournament. The Nike player commercials "Let It Rip", depicting Megan Rapinoe as an All-American Hero,[140][141][142] and "Like a Lioness", showcasing the England team, feature original songs. The latter (also called "Like a Lioness") was performed by Ms Banks,[143] who had previously performed the official anthem of the 2019 Women's World Cup.[144] A supergroup of female artists, Hope FC, also released "Call Me a Lioness", an anthemic song inspired by the England team (better known as the Lionesses). Hope FC features British musicians including Melanie C, Self Esteem, Alex Greenwood of Sports Team, Olivia Dean, Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice, and Shura (a former youth player herself).[145][146][147]

Progressive actions

Indigenous flags and names

Football Australia CEO James Johnson indicated early on in planning that displaying flags representing Indigenous peoples of both Australia and New Zealand was important to the host nations, and were discussing with FIFA whether this would be permitted at the same time as they and others were discussing captain's armbands.[148] A captain's armband highlighting rights for Indigenous peoples was approved by FIFA in June 2023,[149] with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags (Australian Aboriginal Flag and Torres Strait Islander Flag), and New Zealand Māori flag (Tino Rangatiratanga) approved in July 2023. The extended wait for approval, especially after the armband decision had been announced, prompted Football Australia to seek further clarification. FIFA permitted the relevant flags to be flown alongside the national flags of Australia and New Zealand at all venues, giving them the same prominent status upon recommendation from Indigenous consultants and the governments of both host nations.[150][151] Previously, the Australia team displaying the Aboriginal flag before matches had caused controversy.[152]

In a sign of respect for the traditional custodians of the land, indigenous names for the host cities were used alongside the English names in branding.[41]

Player advocacy

Climate action

On 13 July 2023, a group of 44 players, led by Denmark's Sofie Junge Pedersen and facilitated by Common Goal and Football for Future, announced that they would combat the carbon footprint of the teams' flights to Australia and New Zealand by donating to "climate resilience and carbon offsetting initiatives" organised by the World Wildlife Fund and DanChurchAid.[153] Having donated to offset carbon emissions every time her team required flights for five years before the 2023 Women's World Cup,[148] Junge Pedersen decided to reach out to her national and club teammates to do the same when faced with the long flights to Australia and New Zealand and the prominence of the tournament. Announcing the initiative, she hoped other players would join them in donating before and during the World Cup. She and Canada's Jessie Fleming discussed their hope to leave a positive environmental impact, acknowledging that the donations were short-term fixes for one issue, and their hope that there will be more climate-positive developments in football.[153][148]

The group of players also petitioned football governing bodies to make carbon concerns a more important factor in the bidding processes for future tournaments.[154] The initiative was considered the biggest player-led climate campaign in football, especially with the 44 players coming from a variety of nations and working together. The player donations are also being matched by a third party.[155]

Germany grassroots

Also facilitated by Common Goal, the Germany team announced before their opening match that they would donate 1% of their FIFA-guaranteed earnings from the tournament to Futbalo Girls and Girl Power, grassroots football programmes for young girls and non-binary people.[156]

UN Women partnership

The day before the tournament began, UN Women announced that it had partnered with FIFA for the Women's World Cup "to celebrate the skills and achievements of the teams and players, to advance gender equality in football, and to prevent abuse and discrimination on and off the field."[157] The initiative was also to highlight gender inequality issues during the tournament, with a joint campaign for everyone to recognise gender equality as a fundamental human right and to call for an end to violence against women and girls.[157]

Issues

Controversies

There have been various controversies relating to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, with a main focus on players from a variety of teams going public about disputes with their respective football associations over various elements of professionalism, collective bargaining and development that they felt were not being met.[158]

There were also controversies reacting to unpopular decisions made by FIFA: player welfare was a concern;[159][160] the potential sponsorship of the tournament by Saudi Arabia was criticised and eventually dropped;[161] the amount of money that the Big Five bid for broadcasting rights was criticised by FIFA, which in turn was lambasted for hypocrisy;[162] and the inconsistency of the qualification system, in particular widespread condemnation by FIFPRO against confederations other than UEFA for failure to organize separate qualification campaigns unrelated to continental championships, was criticised.[163]

After FIFA experienced criticism for specifically banning OneLove captain's armbands hours before the 2022 Men's World Cup, it spent months in discussion with the women's teams to communicate on the matter. Both rainbow and OneLove armbands were banned at the Women's World Cup, with a similar FIFA-designed armband instead made available by the organisation.[164][165]

Auckland shooting

The opening match of the Women's World Cup took place in Auckland, New Zealand, on 20 July; on the morning of the match, a gunman killed multiple people in the Auckland CBD.[166] The fatal attack "cast a shadow" over the tournament.[167][168][169][170] Football Australia said the shooting was not motivated by the World Cup.[171] It took place near the hotel where Norway, who played New Zealand in the opening match, were staying.[166] The FIFA Fan Festival which was scheduled to take place nearby to the shooting location was cancelled, while the Italy team, who were also staying in a nearby hotel, could not leave to attend training due to police cordons.[172][173] Moments of silence were observed on matchday one in respect to the victims of the shooting;[174][90] security at and around Eden Park, the location of the opening match in Auckland, was heightened, with a statement saying this measure was taken for "reassurance".[175][176] The players also wore black armbands[174] and stadium flags were flown at half mast for both opening games.[177] After New Zealand won the opening match in a surprise victory, Ali Riley paid tribute to the victims, saying that the team had "wanted to bring something amazing" in response to the shooting.[178]

Pullman hotel fire

The New Zealand team's base camp is at the Pullman Auckland Hotel & Apartments. At 7:48 pm on 22 July, the players and staff had to evacuate after fires broke out in multiple locations around the hotel due to a suspected arson attack; they were later allowed to return. Four people were treated for smoke inhalation, while Fire and Emergency New Zealand deemed the incident suspicious.[179] New Zealand Football said that the fire was not connected to the shooting two days earlier. The security around the New Zealand team was increased,[180] with it reportedly being unclear whether the fire was connected to the World Cup. A man was arrested on suspicion of burglary and arson.[181][182]

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