Football: Auckland to host opening ceremony, match of 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

  • 02/12/2021

New Zealand will raise the curtain for the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023.

On Thursday, FIFA released the official schedule for the tournament to be held in New Zealand and Australia - the first of its kind to be jointly hosted.

The opening ceremony and the opening match featuring the Football Ferns will take place on July 20 at Auckland's Eden Park. 

Both Australia and New Zealand will host one semi-final each at Stadium Australia and Eden Park respectively, while the match for third place will be played at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.

The final will be played at Sydney's Stadium Australia on August 20.

In total, New Zealand will host 29 matches - including five knockout games - compared to 35 across the Tasman. 

The quarter-finals are split between the two hosts, with matches in Auckland, Brisbane, Wellington and Sydney.

Group-stage matches have also been evenly divided across both countries. Dunedin will host six - one of which included the Football Ferns on July 30 - while Hamilton will be the venue for five.

The pairings and kick-off times for each fixture will be available after the draw, which will be confirmed at a later date.

"Gaining an equal share of the group-stage matches with Australia is really exciting for Aotearoa and will ensure more of our sports-mad nation can enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime event in our backyard," says Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson.

"Kiwi fans right across the country will have the opportunity to watch the Football Ferns perform on the world stage."

The full schedule for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup can be found here.