October 21 – On Saturday, 29 finalists as well as three playoff teams will learn their fate in the draw for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Football’s great and good will assemble in Auckland for the draw. Former England international Ian Wright, two-time United States world champion Carli Lloyd and Brazilian World Cup winner Gilberto Silva will be among those to help conduct the draw.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and FIFA president Gianni Infantino will be among some 800 guests.
“The draw is the main event in the build-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup and is an internationally significant event in its own right, with millions watching on around the world,” said New Zealand minister of business Chris Bunny.
“We wanted to use this opportunity to put our best foot forward and show FIFA, the teams and the rest of the world what they can expect of us as co-hosts of next year’s tournament.”
Both hosts will enjoy protected status as a seed in Pot 1 alongside the defending champions the United States, European champions England and European powerhouses Sweden, Germany, France and Spain. The four pots were decided on the current FIFA ranking. The line-up for the biggest-ever Women’s World Cup with 32 finalists has not been completed yet.
In February, the last three World Cup tickets will be at stake in a 10-team playoff tournament in New Zealand with all of Portugal, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Cameroon, Senegal, Haiti, Panama, Chile, Paraguay and Papua New Guinea involved.
A total of 10 stadiums will be used for the tournament – six (Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth) of them in Australia and four (Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Dunedin) in New Zealand. Stadium Australia will host the final on August 20, exactly a month after Auckland’s Eden Park hosted the opening match.
Pot 1: (seeded teams): New Zealand, Australia, United States, Sweden, Germany, England, France, Spain.
Pot 2: Canada, Netherlands, Brazil, Japan, Norway, Italy, China, South Korea.
Pot 3: Denmark, Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, Colombia, Argentina, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Jamaica.
Pot 4: Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Morocco, Zambia, three play-off tournament winners.
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