Auckland and the Football Ferns will host the opening game of the 2023 Women's World Cup with the schedule revealed by FIFA.
FIFA released the venues on Thursday. A draw will be held at an as-yet unreleased date where groups and match pairings, along with kick-off times, will be confirmed.
It was revealed however that the opening ceremony and the opening match featuring the Football Ferns will take place on July 20 at Auckland's Eden Park. They will then play in Wellington five days later, before their final group game in Dunedin on July 30.
The Football Ferns have never stepped out onto both Eden Park and Forsyth Barr Stadium and have only played at Sky Stadium once - a loss to Japan in 2018 - which was also their last fixture on home soil since February 2015.
The Ferns will be chasing their first win at a World Cup, having failed to secure one at any of their five appearances to date, in 1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019.
FIFA also confirmed Sydney as host for the final of football's showpiece tournament as one of nine host cities named across Australia and New Zealand for the July 23 to August 20 cup in 2023.
Five Australian cities - Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide - and four NZ cities - Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Hamilton - will host fixtures.
Australia will host 35 games and New Zealand 29.
New Zealand's group games will be held in Auckland (six), Wellington (seven), Dunedin (six) and Hamilton (five). Wellington's seven games are the most of any by the nine host cities.
New Zealand has hosted three FIFA events in the past; the 1999 Under-17 Men’s World Cup, the 2008 Under-17 Women’s World Cup, and the 2015 Under-20 Men’s World Cup.
New Zealand will host group A, which will include the Ferns, and groups C, E, and G, while Australia will host group B, including the Matildas, and groups D, F, and H.
The playoffs have been divided equally among the two hosts with Brisbane, Sydney, Wellington and Auckland named quarter-final spots before Eden Park and Sydney's Stadium Australia will be the semi-final venues.
Sydney Football Stadium hosts the final the following week.
The host cities and stadiums for the Fifa Women's World Cup 2023:
- Adelaide/Tarntanya – Hindmarsh Stadium
- Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau – Eden Park
- Brisbane/Meaanjin – Brisbane Stadium
- Dunedin/Ōtepoti – Dunedin Stadium
- Hamilton/Kirikiriroa – Waikato Stadium
- Melbourne/Naarm – Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
- Perth/Boorloo – Perth Rectangular Stadium
- Sydney/Gadigal – Stadium Australia and Sydney Football Stadium
- Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara – Wellington Stadium
-Additional reporting by AAP.
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