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FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™
The ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, with 32 teams, hosted across two confederations, in ten magnificent stadiums and nine host cities, will be a new landmark in the development of the women’s game.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, will be the first to feature 32 teams, and the first to be co-hosted by two member associations and two continental confederations.
The tournament will take place from 20 July 2023 to 20 August 2023 across nine cities, with the opening match between New Zealand and Norway at Eden Park, Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, and the final at Stadium Australia, Sydney/Gadigal.
Qualified teams
Five of the six confederations used their respective continental championships to decide their representatives at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, while UEFA staged a separate qualifying competition.
The main part of the qualifying competition finished on 11 October 2022 with 29 of the 32 places filled. Five nations – Morocco, the Philippines, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia – all qualified for the first time, as the decision to expand the finals to 32 teams brought immediate benefits by giving more teams a chance to shine on the global stage.
The remaining three places will be filled at the first-ever play-off tournament to be played at two venues – in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau and Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, Aotearoa New Zealand – from 17 to 23 February 2023. This tournament will feature ten teams – Paraguay, Chile, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Haiti, Panama, Cameroon, Switzerland – and will give more teams a chance to play meaningful competitive matches, in line with FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s Vision.
“We will unite the world in Australia and in New Zealand; we will unite the world in joy, because football is joy.”
The draw
The draw took place at the Aotea Centre in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand, on 22 October 2022, and was conducted by former US international and two-time Women’s World Cup champion Carli Lloyd and CNN International sports presenter Amanda Davies. Draw assistants included Maia Jackman, Julie Dolan, Ian Wright, Alexi Lalas, Geremi and Gilberto Silva.
The 800 guests included 28 coaches from the qualified teams and eight from countries competing in the play-off tournament, as well as the FIFA President and Secretary General, Aotearoa New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Australian Federal Minister for Sport Anika Wells, representatives from the teams and FIFA Legends. They were treated to a spectacular celebration of Māori and First Nations culture.
Before the draw, the tournament mascot was unveiled: a penguin named Tazuni™. The name is a fusion of her home – the Tasman Sea – and “unity”, a key value of the event.
“Sport changes lives. This World Cup will change lives. Not just for players, but for fans captivated in stadiums and at home, and for the children watching on and believing that they can be great - as they witness something beyond greatness.”
The defending champions, the USA, were drawn against the Netherlands – promising a rematch of the final in 2019 – and Vietnam. The group will be completed by either Cameroon, Thailand or Portugal, depending on which nation qualifies from the
play-off tournament. European champions England were pitted against Denmark, China PR and another of the play-off winners (Chile, Haiti or Senegal).
New Zealand will take on Norway in the opening game of the tournament on 20 July, with co-hosts Australia playing their first match against the Republic of Ireland later that day.