Final of 2023 Women's World Cup to be held in Sydney

Agencies | Sydney

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Sydney will host the final of the Women's World Cup in 2023, while the opening match of the tournament will take place in Auckland, the ruling body FIFA has said.

The tournament, which will feature 32 teams for the first time, will be hosted by nine cities and 10 stadiums in Australia and New Zealand. Each country will also host one semi-final, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported.

The host cities will include Australia's Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth and New Zealand's Dunedin, Hamilton and Wellington.

The full match schedule will be announced later this year, FIFA said in a Wednesday statement.

The World Cup "will strengthen our already solid reputations as world leaders in women's sport," Minister for Women Marise Payne said in a statement Thursday.

"It will be a platform to inspire girls across Australia," she said. "They will learn that with courage, focus and determination, they can reach any goal in sport or in life."

Hosting the tournament "will showcase improving attitudes towards gender equality in sport and strengthen Australia's reputation as a world leader in promoting women's sport and as a premier host of major international sporting events," Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck said.

"The legacy of FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 starts now and will go on to leave a lasting impression on women's sport across both countries and the wider Asia-Pacific region," said Johanna Wood, president of New Zealand Football.

The 2023 Women's World Cup will see the number of teams rise from 24 to 32, the same number the men currently have before they expand to 48 in 2026. The two hosts are automatically qualified.