FIFA and Football Australia on Friday both denied a report that the 2023 Women’s World Cup could be delayed by months.
L’Equipe reported Thursday that FIFA had approached “European football leaders” to discuss possibly moving the tournament from its current planned footprint of July 20-August 20, 2023, to sometime later in the year, possibly during the Australian summer. FIFA’s concern, per the report, mainly stemmed from the idea that European television broadcasters had shown underwhelming levels of interest in the rights to show the tournament.
However, a FIFA spokesperson and Football Australia both told the Sydney Morning Herald that there are no current plans to implement the change.
“After a successful ‘One Year to Go’ event, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is scheduled to kick off on 20 July 2023. No changes to the dates of the competition are foreseen,” said the FIFA spokesperson, alluding to recent events in Australia and New Zealand celebrating the tournament being a year away.
There have been no other indicators of a push to move the tournament, and doing so at this stage would cause quite a bit of turmoil in the global soccer calendar. While such a move might benefit certain leagues—the NWSL, for example, would probably find it easier to not have a World Cup mid-season—it would likely be a problem for more countries than not. On top of that, the Australian summer is notoriously hot, whereas the winter climate tends to be more conducive for soccer.
Jul 28, 2022
Joey LynchAustralia Correspondent
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- Joey Lynch is a Melbourne-based sports journalist, AYA Cancer advocate, cynical centre-half and Zack Ryder mark.
Primarily working on football, he has covered the Socceroos, Matildas, A-League, W-League, Y-League, the Australian grassroots and beyond.
FIFA said on Thursday that the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will be going ahead as scheduled after a European report floated the possibility of postponement.
French publication L'Equipe wrote on Thursday that FIFA had been in contact with several leading European footballing bodies to discuss the merits of postponing the 2023 Women's World Cup for a number of months.
Similar to the 2022 Men's World Cup set to be staged in Qatar from November to December, this would result in the WWC taking place in the European winter and Australian summer.
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However, though a FIFA spokesperson wouldn't comment on the L'Equipe story when contacted, they told ESPN that the dates for the 2023 WWC remained unchanged.
"After a successful 'One Year to Go' event, the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 is scheduled to kick off on 20 July 2023," a FIFA spokesperson told ESPN. "No changes to the dates of the competition are foreseen."
The 2023 tournament is scheduled to commence on July 20 at Auckland's Eden Park and the final is set to be played on Aug. 20 at Sydney's Stadium Australia, with tickets set to go on sale this October. The draw for the tournament will also take place this October in Auckland.
Any change in dates, according to L'Equipe, would allow more favourable conditions such as extra daylight during the staging of the tournament.
Such a move would also help create more favourable conditions for broadcasters, with the report claiming that FIFA had received bids significantly below the €20 million it had collected for the 2019 tournament when taking the rights to market in France.
Last week, tournament organisers staged a series of events marking one year to go until the tournament's commencement, including a cultural lighting ceremony in the New Zealand city of Hamilton and the unveiling of a "Unity Pitch" gifted to Sydney in Australia.
"Today is a great day in the build-up to the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup," FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura said at the events.
A Football Australia spokesperson, meanwhile, told ESPN that they had no knowledge of any talks surrounding the possible postponement of next year's tournament.
It said: "Following recent 'One Year To Go' celebrations across Australia and New Zealand, Football Australia continues to plan towards the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 kicking off in July next year as scheduled."
Football’s international governing body FIFA has finalised the match schedule for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, confirming a total of nine matches to be held in Auckland between July and August 2023, including:
the tournament’s opening match on 20 July featuring the Football Ferns,
- a further five group stage matches until 1 August,
- one round of 16 match on 5 August,
- a quarter-final on 11 August, and
- a semi-final on 15 August.
Following ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 next March and Rugby World Cup 2021 in October, hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 the following July will bring the region to life, with plenty of ways for Aucklanders to get in on the action.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff welcomed the announcement on the eve of the region’s shift to the new traffic light system. “The FIFA Women’s World Cup is a premier world sporting event with a huge audience internationally and with Auckland on display as a premier destination for global events of scale,” he says.
“One of the largest sporting events ever held in Auckland and New Zealand, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will bring tens of thousands of fans to our region and an estimated $60 million boost to our GDP.”
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup will help boost our hospitality industry, contributing millions to Auckland’s regional economy and driving more than 100,000 visitor nights – directly benefitting businesses and sectors hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“It will also be a major event for women’s sport in New Zealand, inspiring greater participation and following for women’s football and other sporting codes.”
“In 2023, all eyes will be on Tāmaki Makaurau, and we have a chance to showcase our region and all it offers to the world,” Mayor Goff says.
Hosting three women’s World Cups across 2022 and 2023 will be an unprecedented opportunity not only for Auckland, but for women and girls in sport, says Auckland Unlimited Director – Arts, Entertainment and Events, Richard Clarke.
“Auckland is calling, and we can’t wait to welcome the world’s best female athletes to our shores. There is a lot to look forward to over the next 18 months and we are working closely with event partners and a variety of stakeholders to develop an inclusive and inviting host city campaign that plays a key role in reactivating Auckland and driving the benefits of hosting throughout the region.”
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in particular will leave a significant legacy for Auckland – from stadium and training venue upgrades to engaging and inspiring our communities through sport and bolstering Auckland’s expertise in the major events sector,” Richard Clarke says.
The confirmed schedule supports FIFA’s ambition of amplifying the prestigious tournament and increasing the profile and participation of women’s football around the world. For the first time ever, the women’s tournament will feature 32 teams playing a total of 64 matches. The tournament will also be the first FIFA Women’s World Cup held in the Southern Hemisphere, and the first time the event has been jointly hosted by two confederations.
The pinnacle women’s sporting competition, the global broadcast reach of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is forecast to exceed that of any event held in Auckland to date. Past tournaments, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 in France reached a global audience of more than 1.12 billion.
The match schedule, confirming dates and venues for all 64 matches of the tournament can be found here, noting that match timings will be finalised next year.