Women's World Cup opener between Australia and Republic of Ireland moved to tournament's largest venue; July 20 match will now take place at Stadium Australia in Sydney instead of the city's Allianz Stadium
Tuesday 31 January 2023 08:01, UK
Republic of Ireland's opening game of the Women's World Cup against Australia has been moved to a new venue to meet ticket demands.
The match on July 20, on the opening night of the tournament, will now take place at Stadium Australia in Sydney, which has a capacity of 82,500.
Th clash was originally scheduled to take place at Allianz Stadium, which holds 42,000.
Stadium Australia was due to host knock-out matches only, but given the significant interest in tickets, FIFA has taken the decision to move Australia's first match to Sydney's largest stadium.
FIFA is now hoping to get at least 100,000 fans through the turnstiles for the opening night's games (Australia v Republic of Ireland in Sydney, and New Zealand v Norway at Eden Park in Auckland).
"FIFA's mission is to organise the biggest and best Women's World Cup in history this year, and fans, those who bring colour, passion, and atmosphere to stadiums will be such an integral part of the tournament's success," said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.
"With this in mind, we have taken a decision that will enable over 100,000 fans to attend the opening matchday, providing more opportunities for supporters to engage with the FIFA Women's World Cup as a month of football we will never forget gets underway."
