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Jun 27, 2020

Australia, New Zealand win bid to host Women’s Football World Cup in 2023

FA News Desk
FIFA President Gianni Infantino poses next to the Women’s World Cup trophy. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
FIFA President Gianni Infantino poses next to the Women’s World Cup trophy. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Australia and New Zealand will host the 2023 Women’s World Cup, FIFA has announced.

The joint bid got the nod ahead of Colombia, which was the only other rival in the running after Brazil and Japan dropped out of the race earlier in June.

Memories of Australia’s failed bid in 2010 – and the back-room politicking that haunts it – can now be put to bed. 

The 2023 version will be the first in the women’s game to feature 32 sides up from the current 24. The competition is scheduled to take place from July to August 2023.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said, “The bidding process was highly competitive. We would like to thank both of the bidders for their remarkable work. It was really, really well prepared.”

The Australia and New Zealand bid received 22 of the 35 votes cast by the FIFA Council members, with Colombia getting 13 votes.

Football Association Chairman Greg Clarke voted for Colombia as did the other eight UEFA members.

This decision, then, is not just an opportunity for Australian and New Zealand football, but for the entire sport to embark on a new era of growth – especially in the women’s space – towards becoming the game it always had the potential to be: a game that is, truly, for everyone, FIFA says.

World football’s next chapter will be written in the Asia-Pacific, and the 2023 Women’s World Cup provides a concrete timeline for Australia and New Zealand in particular to maximize the next three years’ worth of enthusiasm and investment, FIFA added.

This decision isn’t just a positive for women’s football in Australia and New Zealand. It’s a moment of optimism for all football: a reminder of what it stands for, what it can achieve, and why it matters to all of us. Whether we’re As One in 2023 or “United” in 2026, the game’s ability to bring people together has never felt more profound nor more necessary. Now is when that work really begins, says the FIFA.

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