Football: NZ, Australia bid for 2023 Women's World Cup to be decided on June 25

New Zealand are hoping to co-host the Women's Football World Cup in 2023 with Australia.
New Zealand is hoping to co-host the Women's Football World Cup in 2023 with Australia. Photo credit: Photosport

Australia and New Zealand will discover the fate of their joint bid to host the 2023 women's World Cup at an online meeting of the FIFA Council on June 25.

As well as the trans-Tasman bidders, Brazil, Colombia and Japan are also in the mix for what the game's global governing body said was the "most competitive bidding process" in the event's 29-year history.

None of the bidding nations have staged the event before.

The hosts were originally due to be chosen at a FIFA Council meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  in June but that was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In an open vote of the 37-member FIFA Council, the result of each round of balloting and each voter's choice will be made public.

FIFA inspection teams visited the four bid candidates in January and February before international travel was restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"FIFA remains committed to implementing the most comprehensive, objective and transparent bidding process in the history of the Women's World Cup," says FIFA general secretary Fatma Samoura.

FIFA said its evaluation report on the four bids will be published in early June. South Korea and South Africa dropped out of the race in December.

The 2023 tournament will feature 32 teams for the first time, up from 24 in France in 2019.

Reuters