It’s the biggest show in women’s sport the world has ever seen – and it’s playing out right here in Aotearoa. The biggest stars in women’s football are on show – here’s where you can learn all you need to know about every team in the Fifa Women’s World Cup.
Words: Bonnie Jansen; Design: Dean Talavera; Interactive: Chris Knox
The Fifa Women’s World Cup showcases the best on the planet through July and August, with New Zealand and Australia hosting the biggest female sporting event in history.
For the first time, 32 nations will battle it out – a big jump from the 12-team tournament that kicked off in 1991 and expanded to 24 at the last World Cup in 2019.
There are nine different host cities across either side of the Tasman, with 29 fixtures in Aotearoa and 35 in Australia.
Auckland’s Eden Park hosts the opening match on 20 July between group A’s New Zealand and Norway, with the final playing out at Sydney’s Olympic stadium on 20 August.
The USA arrive at the tournament as favourites – they are the current back-to-back champions and have won the event four out of eight times.
But there’s strength elsewhere in the field: England were crowned European champions in 2022, Germany are ranked No 2 by Fifa and 2019 tournament hosts France have a strong, professional side.
Co-hosts Australia will fancy their chances of making the most of home advantage to claim a big scalp. For New Zealand, advancing from the group stage would be a remarkable achievement; at five previous tournaments, the Football Ferns have never won a World Cup match.
The tournament sets the stage for the world’s best footballers: Women like Spain’s Alexia Putella, who has been annointed Fifa’s World’s Best Player and has won the Ballon d’Or two years in a row. Christine Sinclair, of Canada, is the leading all-time international goalscorer across both the men’s and women’s games. Alex Morgan, the two-time World Cup champion and Olympic medalist, has found the net more than 120 times for the world’s best team.
Players are coming into the event chasing record-breaking prize money. Each player will earn at least $49,000 from the prize pool regardless of where their team finishes – it’s the first-time individual players have been guaranteed payment from the prize pool. More payments follow for teams that progress deeper into the tournament, with the champions sharing an extra $7 million (up $500,000 from 2019) among their squad.
Fifa is anticipating two billion viewers from around the globe will tune in to what will be the biggest-ever Women’s World Cup.
Follow our full Fifa Women’s World Cup coverage here.
