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FIFA has announced that it is giving away 20,000 free tickets for Women's World Cup games in New Zealand, in an attempt to boost attendance and interest in the tournament. The Women's World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, kicks off on July 20 and will feature 32 teams competing for the trophy. However, while ticket sales in Australia have been strong, with over one million tickets sold so far, the demand in New Zealand has been lagging behind.
According to FIFA, 1.25 million tickets have been sold for matches across co-hosts Australia and New Zealand. Of those 320,000 have been sold to matches in New Zealand, but only six of those matches are close to a sell-out.
FIFA's chief women's football officer Sarai Bareman said it was more difficult to attract fans to football stadiums in New Zealand due to the sport's lower profile in the country, while the 'Football Ferns' have yet to win a match in five previous appearances at the World Cup.
To address this issue, FIFA has partnered with Xero, an official FIFA Women's Football partner, to further offer 5,000 complimentary tickets to games in each of the four host cities in New Zealand: Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, and Dunedin. The offer goes live at midday on July 13 and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The matches that are eligible for the free tickets are:
- - Philippines vs Switzerland (July 21, 5 pm, Dunedin)
- - Spain vs Costa Rica (July 21, 7.30 pm, Wellington)
- - Zambia vs Japan (July 22, 7 pm, Hamilton)
- - Spain vs Zambia (July 26, 7.30 pm, Auckland)
“The Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 is set to be huge, putting women’s football on the map here in Aotearoa,” said Xero GM brand and operations Valerie Walshe.
She continued, “Having access to these tickets means that more people will have the chance to be inspired by these athletes and we can hopefully grow the game locally within our football clubs all around the country. We want to see the sport, Kiwi clubs, and female footballers thrive in New Zealand. The more people who get a chance to experience this beautiful game, the better.”
New Zealand will kick off their campaign against former champion Norway at Eden Park on July 20, followed by matches against Brazil and China.
