Auckland will stage the opening game of the 2023 Women’s World Cup with Sydney confirmed as host for the final of football’s showpiece tournament.
Fifa has confirmed nine host cities at 10 stadiums across Australia and New Zealand for the 23 July to 20 August event in 2023.
Five Australian cities – Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide – and four New Zealand cities – Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Hamilton – will host fixtures. Australia will host 35 games and New Zealand 29.
The Sydney Football Stadium will be the venue for six group games with Stadium Australia in the NSW capital hosting a round of 16 game, quarter-final, semi-final and final.
Other group games in Australia will be staged in Brisbane (five), Melbourne (four) 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 also the playoff for third spot – other quarter-final host cities are Sydney, Wellington and Auckland. Auckland’s Eden Park and Sydney’s Stadium Australia will be the semi-final venues.
Fifa released the venues on Thursday. A draw will be held at an as-yet unreleased date where groups and match pairings, along with kick-off times, will be confirmed.
New Zealand will host 29 games overall with Australia hosting 35 matches overall in what Sports Minister Richard Colbeck described as a “privilege” for the country.