LAUSANNE: Australia and New Zealand will host the 2023 women’s World Cup after both countries’ joint bid was chosen by football governing body FIFA.
The overwhelming favourites won ahead of their only rival Colombia after Japan withdrew its bid earlier in the week and Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, and a joint Korean proposals falling apart.
The 2023 tournament is set to be the first 32-team women’s World Cup, up from the 24 nations who competed at last year’s finals in France, won by the United States. It will be the ninth women’s World Cup.
The joint proposal by Australia and New Zealand will see games played in 13 venues across 12 cities in July and August 2023, with the opening match at Eden Park in Auckland and the final in Sydney.
Seven cities in Australia will host games, and five in New Zealand. There will be two stadiums in Sydney. Four groups will be based in each country during the first phase.
The vote came at a video-conference meeting of the 37 members of the FIFA Council as football struggles return in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
READ MORE: Brazil withdraws bid to host 2023 Women’s World Cup
Australian and New Zealand bid was given the highest score, of 4.1 out of five, in an evaluation by world football’s governing body published earlier this month.
It was followed by Japan, on 3.9 but the Japanese bid was withdrawn earlier this week. The head of the country’s football association stated that the support was moving towards Australia and New Zealand, and Japan’s main focus was on hosting next year’s Olympics in Tokyo.
FIFA’s evaluation report gave Colombia a score of just 2.8 out of five as it raised doubts about the ability to provide investment required to carry out necessary improvements and also highlighted security worries.
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