Australasia promise record crowds if awarded 2023 Women’s World Cup

Australia and New Zealand would deliver the highest-attended women’s soccer World Cup in 2023, with projections of more than 1.5 million spectators and an average crowd of 24,000 if they are awarded the tournament, officials said on Tuesday.

The trans-Tasman neighbours last week launched a joint bid backed by both governments to bring the tournament to the southern hemisphere for the first time in 2023.

Their official bid book was presented to world governing body Fifa last Friday. Brazil, Colombia and Japan also submitted formal bids to host the tournament, the first to feature 32 teams.

This year’s 24-team World Cup in France, won by the United States, set records for attendance and attracted unprecedented viewing figures on television. Average attendance in France was about 23,500, with the final in Lyon attracting 57,900.

The 2015 tournament in Canada sold a record total of 1.35 million tickets. New Zealand Football President Johanna Wood said their bid, which is marketed with the tag-line ‘As One’, was also built on providing a legacy for soccer in both countries and throughout the South Pacific.