The Fifa Women's World Cup Unity Pitch is touring New Zealand's host cities and comes to Hamilton on the weekend. Photo / Supplied
The Fifa Women's World Cup Unity Pitch is touring New Zealand's host cities and comes to Hamilton on the weekend. Photo / Supplied
The weather might not want to play ball, but some Women’s World Cup teams do and are set to bring football action to Kirikiriroa/Hamilton this weekend.
The teams will arrive together with the Unity Pitch, a unique futsal-sized pitch that will be at Hamilton Lake Domain. There will be fun activities, giveaways and displays from local entertainers.
The Unity Pitch celebrates diverse people and cultures with events to suit all, and will also tour host cities Ōtepoti/Dunedin and Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington.
At the Hamilton event from February 17 to 20, people have the chance to participate and watch football-themed activities, including give-it-a-go sessions of football drills, friendly games between local fire and police crews, blind football and a Special Olympics football match.
New Zealand’s Football Ferns will participate in a powerchair football match against the Parafed Waikato Wandering Wasps, and visitors can also meet the World Cup 2023 mascot Tazuni, the football-loving penguin, and participate in a self-defence class.
The Football Ferns will come to Hamilton this weekend to play in a powerchair football match against the Parafed Waikato Wandering Wasps.Photo/ Photosport
WaiBOP Football Federation chief executive Karyn Walters says having the Unity Pitch in Hamilton is a tangible sign that the Women’s World Cup is just around the corner.
“We’re in for an exciting time with both the Play-Off Tournament and Unity Pitch happening in our city at the same time,” Walters says.
“The Unity Pitch provides a fun focal point for our community to come together in a great setting.”
The Play-Off Tournament from February 17 to 23, with games at Waikato Stadium and in Auckland, will have 10 teams competing for the final three qualifying spots for the World Cup in Julythat will be co-hosted by Hamilton.
The 10 teams that have qualified for the tournament are Cameroon, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Haiti, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Portugal, Senegal, and Thailand.
The Football Ferns will play three friendly matches around the tournament, one game against Portugal and two fixtures against Argentina.
Waikato Stadium will host five Women’s World Cup 2023 matches between July 20 and August 20. Photo / Hamilton City Council
The design of the Unity Pitch represents a patchwork of the tournament brand colours, reflecting the two unique local cultures of co-hosts Australia and New Zealand, and the coming-together of 32 participating nations.
You can find the full schedule of playoff tournament matches and Unity Pitch activities online.
Tickets for the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 are also available online.
The Hamilton City Council (HCC) says an estimated $18 million will be pumped into the Waikato region during the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023. The spending is projected to come from both international and domestic visitors throughout the main tournament.
Waikato Stadium will host five matches between July 20 and August 20 and it’s estimated the region will see 12,500 unique international visitors spend $13.7m in the region. In addition, these matches will see contribute $3.9m to the host region’s economy.
HCC deputy chief executive Sean Murray says: “The whole city will be involved in some way and Hamilton will have a unique opportunity to present itself to New Zealand and international visitors alike.
“The projections don’t include the Play-Off Tournament which will also generate spending in the city.”
Industries expected to directly benefit are accommodation, transport and security, along with the hospitality trade and catering sectors.
The chief executive of Hamilton and Waikato Tourism, Nicola Greenwell, said the opportunities that the Women’s World Cup brings to the city, region and tourism sector are exciting.
“While our tourism and businesses will certainly benefit from those visiting for the tournament, and at what is traditionally a quieter time for the sector, the opportunities for our community extend into hospitality, retail and services such as supermarkets and petrol stations,” Greenwell said.
It will be the largest women’s sporting event held globally. TV viewership alone is forecast to be two billion, compared to 1.2 billion in France in 2019.
“The benefit from hosting this event is fantastic and provides the opportunity to create a legacy for our city and region - for example, the people watching on the other side of the world may be inspired to visit,” Greenwell said.
“Those visitors attending the event, if we host them well and offer a great experience in our region, will head home and share their stories with friends and family, increasing our international profile and the likelihood of return and future visitation.”
Calculations of visitor numbers and expected visitor spending are consistent with federal, state and regional government-approved economic impact methodologies used to measure the impact of events in Australia and New Zealand.
