Australia and New Zealand will co-host the 2023 Women’s World Cup, replacing Brazil as the host nations after the South American country dropped out from hosting the tournament due to financial fears in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The joint bid submitted by Football Federation Australia and New Zealand Football was chosen by the council of football’s world governing body FIFA, which met on Thursday, June 25. It saw off competition from Colombia.
The joint bid from the two countries received 22 of the 35 valid votes cast by the FIFA Council members in the first ballot, with the Colombian Football Association having obtained 13 votes.
The tournament will feature 32 teams for the first time, with the bid proposing to use up to eight venues in Australia and five in New Zealand.
That tournament, which was originally scheduled for 2021, was put back after the men’s Euro 2020 was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will now be played in July and August 2023.
The president of New Zealand Football, Johanna Wood, said: “We believe we have been given a treasure, and we will look after that treasure.
“We will work towards putting women’s football even more front and centre on the world stage.”
