2023 Women’s World Cup schedule revealed, with Sydney to host Final
FIFA has released the match schedule for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, confirming how many games each stadium in Australia and New Zealand will host.
The month-long tournament featuring 32 countries and 64 matches will be played in nine host cities at 10 stadiums across the two countries. 2023 marks the ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup, and the first to be jointly hosted by two countries.
The list of 10 stadiums to host matches for the tournament were announced last June, with three venues cut from the original bid document (Newcastle, Launceston and Christchurch). See the full list below.
The tournament will kick-off with New Zealand’s Football Ferns taking the pitch at Auckland’s Eden Park on July 20, while the Matildas will start their Group B campaign later that night, at the Sydney Football Stadium.
It was also confirmed that Stadium Australia will host the Final, on Sunday, August 20. In all, Sydney will host 11 matches across two venues – the most of any city, while Australia will host 35 games, with 29 games in New Zealand.
The new Sydney Football Stadium, which will be in its first full year of operation, will host six group games and a round-of-16 fixture, while Accor Stadium will host a round-of-16, quarter final, semi-final and the final.
As was revealed last year, Melbourne has missed out on hosting any of the tournament’s major fixtures, due to AAMI Park’s 30,000 capacity and the city’s two larger stadiums, the MCG and Marvel Stadium, being unavailable due to the AFL season. It’s a FIFA requirement that stadiums are clear of events weeks ahead of the tournament. The city will host four group games and two round-of-16 fixtures.
Other group games in Australia will be staged in Brisbane (five) and Adelaide (four). New Zealand’s group games will held in Auckland (six), Wellington (seven), Dunedin (six) and Hamilton (five).
Brisbane will also host a quarter-final and the playoff for third spot, while Wellington will host a quarter final and Auckland a quarter final and semi-final.
As is the case for all FIFA events, stadiums are officially referred to as their non-commercial name, meaning all but two venues will have a different name during the tournament, including the recently rebranded Accor Stadium.
Australian Venues
ADELAIDE – Coopers Stadium (Hindmarsh Stadium)
5 matches
BRISBANE – Suncorp Stadium (Brisbane Stadium)
8 matches including Third Place Match
MELBOURNE – AAMI Park (Melbourne Rectangular Stadium)
6 matches
PERTH – HBF Park (Perth Rectangular Stadium)
5 matches
SYDNEY – Accor Stadium (Stadium Australia)
4 matches including the Final
SYDNEY – Sydney Football Stadium
7 matches
New Zealand Venues
AUCKLAND – Eden Park
9 matches including Opening Match
DUNEDIN – Forsyth Barr Stadium (Dunedin Stadium)
6 matches
HAMILTON – FMG Stadium (Waikato Stadium)
5 matches
WELLINGTON – Sky Stadium (Wellington Regional Stadium)
9 matches
The hosting of the tournament has resulted in upgrades for stadiums, including Coopers Stadium and HBF Park, while numerous training venues are also being constructed or upgraded around the country,
Find out more about each of the 10 host stadiums here on Austadiums.
FIFA will stage its draw for the 2023 tournament at yet to be released date, where groups and match pairings, along with kick-off times, will be confirmed.
