FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Host Cities and Stadiums announced

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ took an important and exciting step this week with the announcement of the nine Host Cities and ten stadiums in Australia and New Zealand that will host matches during the tournament. 

With just over two years to go until some of the best players in the world take to the field in Australia and New Zealand, the Host City announcement represents a major milestone for many football fans and players around the world, as well as in the preparations for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in 2023 – which will be the first-ever co-hosted FIFA Women’s World Cup and the first edition to feature 32 teams.

The Host Cities and stadiums for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ are:

• Adelaide – Hindmarsh Stadium
• Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau – Eden Park
• Brisbane – Brisbane Stadium 
• Dunedin / Ōtepoti – Dunedin Stadium 
• Hamilton / Kirikiriroa – Waikato Stadium 
• Melbourne – Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 
• Perth – Perth Rectangular Stadium 
• Sydney – Stadium Australia and Sydney Football Stadium 
• Wellington / Te Whanganui-a-Tara – Wellington Stadium 

In addition to revealing the Host Cities and stadiums, FIFA has also announced that Eden Park in Auckland will host the opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ with Stadium Australia in Sydney selected to host the Final.

Both Australia and New Zealand will also host one semi-final each with the full match schedule for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ to be announced later this year.

Host City selection

Speaking on the selection of the Host Cities for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, said:

The appointment of the 9 Host Cities represents a major milestone for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, as well as for players and football fans across Australia, New Zealand and around the world. 

Building on the incredible success of France 2019 both on and off the pitch, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and 9 Host Cities across Australia and New Zealand will not only showcase the world’s very best players, but will also provide a powerful platform to unite and inspire people, transform lives and create a lasting legacy for women’s football in Australia and New Zealand and around the world.

Following the host city announcement from FIFA and news that Eden Park will host the opening fixture of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, New Zealand’s National Stadium hosted Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, NZ Football CEO Andrew Pragnell, Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner, Jane Patterson, COO FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, and players on the Sky Sport Rooftop Tour to celebrate.

Global stage 

Nick Sautner, Eden Park Chief Executive Officer, said:

Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is a remarkable outcome for the team of 5 million in Aotearoa. For Eden Park, and Auckland, to be selected for this momentous event highlights the mana that our stadium holds on the world stage. We are committed to delivering a commercially successful tournament, record-breaking crowds, global broadcast figures, long-term participation growth and a genuine legacy as we strive for gender equality in sport. Eden Park’s purpose-built facilities, and capacity of 48,000, makes securing events of this calibre achievable for New Zealand.

 The tournament would not be possible without the funding support from both Governments in New Zealand and Australia to ensure that our facilities meet tournament requirements as we deliver the single biggest sporting event ever held in Aotearoa.

We look forward to working with Auckland Unlimited, Auckland Council and central Government to deliver the required venue upgrades which include stadium field lighting, gender appropriate changing room renovations, bilingual signage installation, elevator and CCTV upgrades, installation of a replay screen and turnstile replacement. 

Eden Park is committed to delivering three successful World Cup tournaments within the next three years and showcasing Tāmaki Makaurau on the world stage.

 Source: FIFA

Nick Sautner, Eden Park CEO, provided the Opening Keynote at last month’s ALSD International – Virtual event. Click on the image below to watch his presentation…