Jason Burgos
While Women’s World Cup ticket sales in Australia have done well, the results so far have been disastrous in co-host country New Zealand.
After a four-year wait, the Women’s World Cup is back next week. The 2023 version of the globally watched event is set to take place in Australia and New Zealand during July and August and has garnered a good deal of attention as the United States goes for a historic third straight title.
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With less than a week before the event kicks off on July 20, the numbers for ticket sales in Australia have been strong and this year’s event is expected to break women’s World Cup attendance records. However, while the nation with over 25 million residences has done well, New Zealand’s 5 million citizens don’t seem to be as interested in this year’s tournament.
On Friday, Front Office Sports reported that of the 1.25 million tickets sold for the 2023 matches, only 320,000 of those are in New Zealand. And when you factor in that Auckland’s Eden Park will have 40,000 in attendance for the countries opener against Norway, that means only 280,000 have been sold for the rest of the games for the tourney.
Due to the lack of interest thus far, the Associated Press revealed earlier this week that a FIFA sponsor has started to give out over 20,000 free tickets to try and fill venues for upcoming Women’s World Cup matches in New Zealand.
While the news is not a great look for soccer fans in New Zealand, events like the World Cup are supposed to bring in a huge amount of tourism to host cities as fans from around the world flock to see their nation compete for the Cup trophy. This may be evidence that interest in this year’s event has not delivered to the level that FIFA hoped for.
