Auckland Appointed As Football Ferns’ Base During Women World Cup

Kiwi football fans will have an opportunity to see some of the best female football players in action in about 6 months from now. The World Cup Football 2023 is coming down under and will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The largest football event for female players will kick off in July 2023.

The base for the Football Ferns has been confirmed by the FIFA, along with the other temporary homes for the other teams. The Football Ferns will head to Auckland. Sixteen teams will be in the country for the group stages with each team having access to their own training site and accommodation. This is also the place they will return to after each world cup game, regardless of where in the country they will be playing. The World Cup starts on July 20 when NZ kicks off the tournament with a match with Norway at Eden Park, Auckland.

Dedicated Team Base Camps Are A First Timer

With basically every sports event, there are some groundbreaking moments coming up. It is the very first time that the competing countries will have their own team base camps. This means that each country will have access to both a training site and full accommodation. In addition to the Football Ferns, the teams of the United States and Norway are also based in the county’s biggest city, with the squad of Japan staying in Christchurch, Spain going to Palmerston North, the Netherlands heading to Tauranga and Sweden in Wellington, amongst others.

The remaining teams that still need to qualify via play-offs will select their base camps after qualification. This will happen in the month of February. There are still 3 teams competing for a World Cup spot.

The WC 2023 is the first edition to be co-hosted by two countries. It is also the first edition that is going to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, and the very first with 32 teams in contest. The latter represents a major increase from 24 teams during the last world cup in 2019 in France.

Divided Between The Two Islands

Out of the teams competing, there are 7 teams staying in Auckland. The other countries going to Auckland include the Philippines (Olympic Park / Bay-Olympic FC), Norway (Seddon Fields / Western Springs AFC), Vietnam (Fred Taylor Park / Waitakere City FC), Italy (Shepherds Park / Birkenhead United AFC) and Argentina (Michaels Ave Reserve / Ellerslie AFC). African representatives Zambia will be in Hamilton whilst only Sweden and South Africa will stay in Wellington. Costa Rica and Japan are going to the southern island as Christchurch is hosting both teams. Switzerland is coming to Dunedin.

“FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is Going Beyond Greatness”

The football federations says that it is fully determined to provide each team with a premium training and preparation environment, facilitating full focus on their sportive performances at the tournament whilst at the same time offering the teams the chance to meet with the people and communities where they are located.

“Our goal is to what we call going ‘beyond greatness’. In order to do so we will provide top class environments for the 32 teams. These base camps can be used to train, rest, and recover after games and training sessions. At the same time, we are delighted to feel great support from the host countries, governments, and host cities.”

Sarai Bareman, FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer

Growing and Developing Women’s Football

She adds by saying that the FIFA is committed to enhancing the standards for the participating teams. The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is held from the 20th of July 2023 until the 20th of August 2023. The opening match is played in the Eden Park stadium in Auckland. The final will be played in Stadium Australia, in Sydney.

Football Ferns’ Women World Cup 2023 draw:

• July 20, 2023: NZ – Norway at Eden Park (Auckland).
• July 25, 2023: NZ – Philippines at Wellington Stadium (Wellington).
• July 30, 2023: NZ – Switzerland at Dunedin Stadium (Wellington).

References

• https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/12/12/football-ferns-to-be-based-in-auckland-during-next-years-world-cup/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_women%27s_national_football_team