FIFA has made the drastic call to offer 20,000 tickets for free to Women's World Cup games in New Zealand as concerns grow around crowd numbers at the tournament in Aotearoa.
In an announcement in Wellington this morning, Xero - an official FIFA women's football partner - confirmed they will be offering 5000 free tickets to a game at each of New Zealand's four venues.
“We just want Kiwis to be able to experience some of these amazing athletes at this event, which is going to be the most-attended women’s sporting event in history,” Xero general manager of brand and operations Valerie Walshe said.
It means Kiwi fans quick enough to grab a ticket will be able to attend the following games for free:
- Match 3: 21 July 5pm – Dunedin – Philippines vs Switzerland
- Match 5: 21 July 7.30pm – Wellington – Spain v Costa Rica
- Match 6: 22 July 7pm – Hamilton – Zambia v Japan
- Match 20: 26 July 7.30pm – Auckland – Spain v Zambia
Fans wanting to get hold of the tickets will be able to do so online from midday today with the code 23XERO. It is limited to a maximum of four each.
“Having access to these tickets means that more people will have the chance to be inspired by these athletes and we can hopefully grow the game locally within our football clubs all around the country," Walsh said.
The announcement comes as sales in New Zealand continue to drag behind Australia with FIFA confirming they've reached the "important milestone" of 1.25 million tickets being sold, although just 320,000 of those were to games in Aotearoa.
FIFA Women’s World Cup chief executive Dave Beeche said they were "comfortable" with the progress in New Zealand.
"Naturally, there's some games that are experiencing higher demand with the Kiwis and some of the top ranked teams but we're happy with how the progress is, overall."
Beech added the quality of football would "blow New Zealanders away".
"I'd encourage New Zealanders to pick a game, pick a second team, adopt that team and get out, paint your face in the colours and get along and make some noise."
It comes after FIFA's chief women's football officer Sarai Bareman said last month she was more focused on New Zealand sales because the Football Ferns don't have the same "selling power" as the Matildas in Australia.
"In Australia, they are the darlings of the country. Sam Kerr is an absolute superstar and the whole country is in love with football because of the Matildas," she said.
The Football Ferns snapped a 10-game winless streak in Napier on Monday with a 2-0 win over Vietnam - their final friendly before they launch their World Cup campaign at Eden Park next Thursday against Norway.
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