In preparation for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the New Zealand government has pledged NZD $19m ($11m USD) for facilities upgrades. The money will be allocated between 30 different venues that will be used as New Zealand and Australia share hosting responsibilities.
New Zealand and Australia will split the group stage games between the two countries and the Kiwis will also be host to five of the knockout round stage games. Upgrades to the venues will include gender-neutral changing areas, lights, general improvements around the stadiums and, most importantly, maintenance on the playing fields.
New Zealand’s chief of operations for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Jane Patterson, shared her gratitude to the government in a statement saying, “While the FIFA Women’s World Cup will break new ground and place women’s sport center stage, these upgrades will lay the foundations for a legacy for many years to come. We are delighted that if team base camps in the five regional centers are selected, the tournament’s footprint will be spread even further across Aotearoa - giving more Kiwis the chance to engage with the world’s biggest women’s sporting event.”
Although the tournament is not set to begin until July of 2023, the improvements will need to be made fairly quickly since New Zealand is set to host intercontinental playoffs in February as somewhat of a test ahead of the main event next summer.
With the official draw for the Women’s World Cup taking place next month, the hope for New Zealand is that the buzz surrounding preparations, intercontinental playoffs and the tournament itself will increase the popularity of the sport in the nation to potentially bring more events there in the future.
New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Sport and Recreation, Grant Robertsone, said: “The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the largest women’s sporting event on the planet. Hosting an event of this magnitude will generate significant social and economic benefits for Aotearoa New Zealand and leave a lasting legacy for football and women’s sport in this country.”
With the FIFA Men’s World Cup kicking off in less than two months in Qatar and the group selection for the Women’s World Cup taking place so soon, the excitement for fans of the sport around the world is building quickly for a year of great competition from the best teams internationally.
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