The ninth edition of the tournament, which is due to take place from July 20 to August 20 in two years, will be the first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosted and the first FIFA tournament co-hosted across two confederations – Australia is a member of the Asian Football Confederation and New Zealand the Pacific Football Confederation.

It will also be the first edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup to feature 32 teams instead of 24.

The delegation, comprising experts from key operational areas, is expected to visit all nine host cities and 10 stadiums in Australia and New Zealand, as well as inspect other potential tournament venues.

During the two-week visit, FIFA representatives will also meet with key stakeholders and representatives in Australia and New Zealand, including host member associations and local authorities, to discuss preparations and key operational issues. of the tournament.

The New Zealand leg of the tour begins tomorrow with a visit to Wellington Stadium, which will be followed by dates at Waikato Stadium, Eden Park – which is set to host the opener – and Dunedin.

The Australian leg will begin with inspections at Stadium Australia – slated to host the final – and Sydney Football Stadium from June 29 to 30, followed by visits to Brisbane Stadium, Adelaide’s Hindmarsh Stadium, Perth Rectangular Stadium and finally, on July 4, Melbourne’s Rectangular Stadium.

With just over two years to go until the tournament kicks off, Dave Beeche has been appointed General Manager of the event and will lead the overall tournament organization, along with COOs, Australia-based Jane Fernandez. , and Jane Patterson, based in New Zealand.

Originally from New Zealand, Beeche has an accomplished experience as a Managing Director in Australia and New Zealand, with over 15 years of experience leading commercial and non-profit organizations in the sports sectors, events and tourism.

Beeche was the general manager of the local organizing committee for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand in 2015.

FIFA also announced that it had awarded the exclusive rights in Australia for the tournament to Optus Sport.

As part of the agreement, Optus will broadcast the 64 matches of the biggest event in international women’s football on its Optus Sport platform in Australia.

One match per day, including key tournament matches and all Matildas matches, will be available nationwide with free access.

the Optus Tournament coverage will reach fans across all platforms with highlights, support programs and other digital content.

Since the first edition in 1991, the FIFA Women’s World Cup has grown exponentially to become the most watched women’s monosport event in the world.

The last edition in France in 2019 attracted a record audience of over 1.1 billion viewers, crushing national audience figures in many territories.