As we are just weeks away from the opening game of the Women's World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, the stage is set for a fantastic tournament following on from what has been an incredible couple of years for women's football.
Attendance records have been smashed everywhere, from the Women's Euros to the Women's Champions League, and the Women's World Cup 2023 is bound to reach unchartered territory.
In this piece, we will be taking a closer look at this year's venues.
Stadium Australia
Contents
Key Information:
- Capacity – 69,314
- Location – Sydney, Australia
- Opened – 1999
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Stadium Australia
- Australia vs Republic of Ireland
- Round of 16 match 5
- Quarter-final match 4
- Semi-final match 2
- Final
The stadium where we will see the Women's World Cup trophy won, the stadium that can make history. Only four nations have got their hands on the trophy – US, Germany, Norway and Japan – so we could see a winner crowned for the very first time. Nations such as England will be coming into the tournament with high hopes after their European Championship success while the hosts Australia, who have recently beaten the European champions, will fancy themselves. Other nations such as Spain, Sweden, Netherlands and France all have world-class players who, should they be at their best, will be in with a good shout.
The stadium itself was built when Sydney was announced as the host of the 2000 Olympics. The stadium's architects had an initial goal in mind to make the facility have a capacity of just shy of 120,00, but that target was not met. It did, however, still see just over 114,000 people attend the opening ceremony for that year's Olympics. One year later, in 2001, the stadium underwent redevelopment to remove temporary seating and enclose the stadium with roof sheets. As part of the process, retractable stands on both sides of the pitch were installed.
Suncorp Stadium
Key Information:
- Capacity – 52,500
- Location – Brisbane, Australia
- Opened – 1914
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Suncorp Stadium
- England vs Haiti
- Austria vs Nigeria
- France vs Brazil
- Republic of Ireland vs Nigeria
- Korea Republic vs Germany
- Round of 16 match 6
- Quarter-final match 3
- Third Place Play-Off
The first game at this stadium will see European Champions England come up against CONCACAF nation Haiti. The stadium itself is located in central Brisbane and is just a stone's throw from Victoria Park. Suncorp Stadium sits on the bank of the Brisbane River, which people take advantage of during Australia's hot summers. The stadium is a modern-looking rectangular structure with three tiers of seating on all four stands. The floodlights are attached to the front of the roof, making the stadium look even more impressive during a night match. Behind both goals you will be able to see two very large LED Screens which is located just above the first tier of seating.
Hindmarsh Stadium
Key Information:
- Capacity – 13,327
- Location – Adelaide, Australia
- Opened – 1960
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Hindmarsh Stadium
- Brazil vs Panama
- China vs Haiti
- Korea Republic vs Morocco
- China vs England
- Round of 16 match 7
Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium provides us with the tournament's smallest venue, but what it lacks in size, it certainly makes up for in detail, with each stand having a unique design. The stands behind each goal have no roof, which is like many stadiums in this part of the world, with one of these stands having a large LED screen. The Western Grandstand, which houses the dugout, is the stadium's main stand which towers over the other three stands.
The Hindmarsh Stadium is such a unique-looking facility which will provide us with five glorious games, the last of which is a Round of 16 fixture before the stadium will then no longer be used at the tournament.
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
Key Information:
- Capacity – 30,050
- Location – Melbourne, Australia
- Opened – 2010
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
- Nigeria vs Canada
- Germany vs Morocco
- Canada vs Australia
- Jamaica vs Brazil
- Round of 16 match 4
- Round of 16 match 8
The impressive Melbourne Rectangular Stadium was opened in 2010 and was the city's first large, purpose-built stadium. Cox Architects, who designed the stadium, decided on a unique look that they officially call a cutting-edge bio-frame design with a geodesic roof which covers a substantial amount of the 30,050 seats inside the stadium. The roof comprises 20 domes which use 50% less steel than Regular Truss systems.
The initial plans for the stadium would have seen a 20,000 capacity, with the infrastructure to expand to 25,000 if the event required that. However, they were scrapped and new plans were drawn up to ensure the stadium would be a 30,050-capacity all-seater stadium.
Perth Rectangular Stadium
Key Information:
- Capacity – 20,500
- Location – Perth, Australia
- Opened – 1910
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Perth Rectangular Stadium
- Denmark vs China
- Canada vs Republic of Ireland
- Panama vs Jamaica
- Haiti vs Denmark
- Morocco vs Colombia
The Perth Rectangular Stadium is one of many stadiums to be selected for this summer's Women's World Cup that has no roof on both of the stands behind the goal. Three venues will no longer be used once the group stage has concluded, with this stadium being one of them. Recently renovated, the stadium consists of a two-tiered modern-looking stand sitting directly opposite a unique stand which is split into three sections. The middle section is higher than the other two sections and also has a roof, whilst the sections on either side have no roof and seats less people.
Sydney Football Stadium
Key Information:
- Capacity – 42,500
- Location – Sydney, Australia
- Opened – 2022
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Sydney Football Stadium
- France vs Jamaica
- Colombia vs Korea Republic
- England vs Denmark
- Germany vs Colombia
- Panama vs France
- Round of 16 match 3
The Sydney Football Stadium is the newest venue to be selected as a host stadium for the Women's World Cup, officially opening in August 2022. Plans to construct the stadium were announced in 2018, which would see this new, modern-looking stadium replace the old Sydney Football Stadium. The stadium did come with some controversy, however, with construction delayed due to protest groups opposing the build. However, that was as settled as a win for the Government of New South Wales in court, meaning that despite it initially being delayed, the build could officially start.
The stadium is similar to the Stadium Australia, which will host this year's final, although significantly smaller. It looks very much the same as the stands, which run parallel with the playing surface, both having three tiers, whilst the stands situated behind each goal are two-tiered stands. The roof was made to tower over the stadium to give it an enclosed feel, which would help keep the atmosphere inside the ground.
Dunedin Stadium
Key Information:
- Capacity – 30,748
- Location – Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand
- Opened – 2011
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Dunedin Stadium
- Philippines vs Switzerland
- Netherlands vs Portugal
- Japan vs Costa Rica
- Argentina vs South Africa
- Switzerland vs New Zealand
- Vietnam vs Netherlands
The Dunedin Stadium, located on New Zealand's south island, is the world's first fully enclosed grassed stadium. It was designed that way for the versatility that comes with it, meaning it can host sports from Rugby and football to basketball and netball. The seating inside the stadium can be moved to allow for flexibility based on the sport the stadium is hosting. The North and South stands are permanent stands but both East and West Stands come with removable seating.
The incredibly impressive roof design is 37 metres high internally whilst externally it reaches a height of 47 metres. The roof itself was designed so it would be built to be angled to face north so it would optimise the sun in a typical Southern Hemisphere winter, but there was a mistake made during the build, so the roof faces more North-East. The roof is also designed to collect rainwater which can then be used to water the pitch.
Eden Park
Key Information:
- Capacity – 40,536
- Location – Auckland, New Zealand
- Opened – 1900
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at Eden Park
- New Zealand vs Norway
- USA vs Vietnam
- Italy vs Argentina
- Spain vs Zambia
- Norway vs Philippines
- Portugal vs USA
- Round of 16 match 1
- Quarter Final match 1
- Semi Final match 1
Located in Central Auckland is the impressive Eden Park, which will host the tournament's opening game between host country New Zealand and Norway. The stadium is made up of four stands, all of which are different from each other. First, we have the West Stand, the stadium's smallest and situated behind the goal. It is a one-tiered stand with no roof, whilst the stand behind the other goal also has no roof but has an extra tier. Then we go on to the bigger stands, starting with the North Stand – a huge two-tiered stand which is curved round, built that way for cricket and has a small section not covered at all by the roof. The South Stand towers over the other stands with its roof seemingly covering a lot of the pitch. With the South Stand's four tiers, it is by some way the stadium's biggest stand.
Waikato Stadium
Key Information:
- Capacity – 16,271
- Location – Hamilton, New Zealand
- Opened – 2002
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Waikato Stadium
- Zambia vs Japan
- Switzerland vs Norway
- Portugal vs Vietnam
- Costa Rica vs Zambia
- Argentina vs Sweden
Waikato Stadium is located in the northern part of New Zealand, in Hamilton. The population of Hamilton is fewer than 200,000, which makes it the second smallest city to host a game for this year's Women's World Cup, Dunedin being the smallest.
The stadium is one of many multi-purpose stadiums in Australia and New Zealand, with this stadium being used mostly for Rugby Union, the national sport of New Zealand. The Waikato Stadium is regarded as one of the best pure rectangular stadiums in New Zealand and it's easy to see why. All four stands are different, it gives off a different feel depending on which stand you look at. The stands which run parallel to the pitch are the two biggest stands, holding 12,000 and 8,000 fans, whilst both stands behind the goal are smaller. The East Stand holds 5,000 fans whilst the West Stand located behind the opposing goal, has a capacity of just 840 people, making it, comfortably, the smallest stand at this summer's tournament. The stadium was built so another 5,000 temporary seats could be installed if the demand was there.
Wellington Regional Stadium
Key Information:
- Capacity – 31,089
- Location – Wellington, New Zealand
- Opened – 2000
Women's World Cup 2023 matches at the Wellington Regional Stadium
- Spain vs Costa Rica
- Sweden vs South Africa
- New Zealand vs Philippines
- USA vs Netherlands
- Sweden vs Italy
- Japan vs Spain
- South Africa vs Italy
- Round of 16 match 2
- Quarter-final match 2
In 1999 when the Wellington Regional Stadium was built, it was the first stadium in New Zealand to be built in the shape of a bowl. Its main purpose is being a football stadium with A-League men's side Wellington Phoenix playing their games there alongside the women's team from Wellington. Referred to locally as the Ring of Fire, the Stadium also hosts the New Zealand national team's home games and is situated on the water edge with views of the Matiu/Somes Island.
For water or boat lovers, the stadium is just a few yards away from the water, with boats often parked up due to the stadium being located on the port of Wellington.