Thursday, 20 July 2023, marks the kickoff of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It is the tournament’s ninth edition, which is co-hosted this time by New Zealand and Australia, the first of its kind to be hosted in the Southern Hemisphere.

While this, indeed, is a privilege for both countries, hosting the 2023 Women’s World Cup there is even a double privilege for everyone who has got anything to do with this competition, given that the entire Northern Hemisphere is currently going through a severe peerless heatwave and recording soaring temperatures that are likely to stick around for who knows how long.

On the other hand, and if you remember that lesson from fifth-grade geography, it is currently winter down there.

2023 Women’s World Cup

Anyways.

This year’s competition especially has been getting a lot of buzz over the past few months, for it is witnessing some really good changes, which, in turn, are making it almost identical to the Men’s World Cup. For instance, 32 nations from six confederations are competing this year compared to the 24 of the 2019 edition. This also means a total of 64 Matches will be played instead of 52.

Interestingly, only seven out of those 32 nations played in every Women’s World Cup since its takeoff in 1991 and a total of 20 nations competed in the 2019 tournament. Countries such as Morocco, Panama, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Zambia and the Philippines are competing for the first time this year. The Philippines, in particular, is experiencing its first-ever FIFA World Cup as its men’s national team never really qualified for such a competition before.

The structure of this tournament has also been made the same as the Men’s version. All 32 teams are split into eight groups of four lettered from A to H. The first stage is the group stage, where teams in each group play one another. A total of six matches are played within one group, which results in 48 matches played within the entire stage.

These 48 matches are not played to a finish. In other words, losing one match in this stage does not cause elimination but only affects the number of points the teams receive. These points, however, determine which two teams from each group will qualify for the next stage and which will go bye-bye in tears.

Those 16 teams that qualify will then play eight matches in the knockout stage, also called the round of 16. Starting here, losing a match literally knocks the team out of the World Cup. Only one team from each group, or a total of eight, will then qualify for the quarter-final. The quarter-final stage eliminates four teams and qualifies the others for the semi-final.

Two matches are played in the semi-final. Those who lose play for the third and fourth places, and the winners compete for the title in the tournament’s 64th and final match.

As the tournament is taking off on 20 July 2023, the group stage matches will be played every day until 3 August. The round of 16 will start on 5 August and end on 8 August. The quarter-final is set to be on 11 and 12 August, and the semi-final is on the 15th and 16th. The match for third place will be played on 19 August, and the final match is planned to take place on 20 August 2023.

All those 64 matches will be played simultaneously in 10 venues, four in New Zealand hosting 29 matches and six in Australia hosting a total of 35. Nine out of those 10 stadiums underwent some little renovations to be just perfect for such a big event. Only the Sydney Football Stadium received a total upgrade.

Or here is a glimpse of every one of those 10 stadiums anyways.

1. Eden Park

Established in 1900 and located right at the heart of Auckland on the North Island, Eden Park is the national stadium of New Zealand and by far the country’s largest one. It has a capacity of 50,000 people but can host 10,000 more temporary seats if necessary. Well, this did happen in the 1987 Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and France, where the attendance exceeded 61,000 people.

Eden Park was chosen for the privilege of hosting the opening match of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup between New Zealand and Norway. Apart from this, it will also be the venue for five other matches in the group stage. The first is between the United States and Vietnam on 22 July, then Italy will play Argentina on 24 July, followed by Spain and Zambia on the 26th, and Norway and the Philippines on 30 July. The final group stage match this stadium is hosting is between Portugal and the United States, scheduled on 1 August.

The first match of the knockout stage between the winners of groups A as well as C will be played in Eden Park on 5 August. The stadium is also assigned a quarter-final match on 11 August and a semi-final on 15 August.

That is a total of nine matches Eden Park is hosting.

Since it is the country’s national stadium and the one hosting the opening ceremony and the kickoff match, Eden Park has received 33 million dollars worth of renovations, most notably in the LED flood-lighting—makes sense—and the dressing rooms. Two gigantic screens were also replaced.

2. Wellington Regional Stadium

As the name suggests, the Wellington Regional Stadium, the country’s second-largest one, is located in Wellington, which, by the way, is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located way too far from Auckland, around 641.5 kilometres away, right at the southwestern tip of the North Island.

The Wellington Regional Stadium has a capacity of 34,500 people; however, it can expand to much more than that. In fact, it held up to 47,260 fans in a concert performed by Ed Sheeran in February 2023.

Although it is 99 years younger than Eden Park, the Wellington Regional Stadium was chosen to host 10 matches in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The first seven matches belong to the group stage, where Spain will first play Costa Rica on 21 July, and then Sweden will go against South Africa on 23 July. The schedule then goes as follows: New Zealand versus the Philippines on 25 July, the USA versus the Netherlands on the 27th, Sweden versus Italy on 29 July, Japan versus Spain on the 31st, and finally there is a match between South Africa and Italy on 2 August.

In the round of 16, the Wellington Regional Stadium will host one match between the winners of groups C and A on 5 August. It will also host the first quarter-final match on 11 August.

3. Dunedin Stadium

Located in Dunedin, the second largest city in the South Island, the Dunedin Stadium is the fourth largest sports venue in New Zealand, with a capacity of 30,748 people, which can also be expanded to 36,000. Due to its relatively small capacity, the Dunedin Stadium is hosting six group stage matches only and none from the other stages.

It will first start with the Philippines playing Switzerland on 21 July, then continue with the Netherlands and Portugal on 23 July, Japan and Costa Rica on the 26th, Argentina and South Africa on the 28th, Switzerland and New Zealand on the 30th, and finally say goodbye to the competition with a match between Vietnam and the Netherlands on 1 August.

4. Waikato Stadium

It does sound like a Japanese name, but, no, Waikato is New Zealander!

Waikato Stadium is the fourth and last stadium in New Zealand, contributing to the 2023 Women’s World Cup. It is located in Hamilton, which is a city on the North Island of New Zealand. It is the smallest of the four stadiums, with a capacity of 25,800 people, but it can be expanded temporarily by 5,000 more seats.

Like the Dunedin Stadium, the Waikato Stadium is hosting five matches, all of which are in the group stage. The first one will be played between Zambia and Japan on 22 July, then Switzerland will face Norway on the 25th, followed by Portugal and Vietnam on the 27th, and Costa Rica and Zambia on the 31st. The final match this stadium is set to host will be between Argentina and Sweden on 2 August.

5. Stadium Australia

Now, let’s get to the giants.

Stadium Australia is one of six Australian stadiums to host matches in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. It is located in Sydney and is by far the largest stadium in the country, with a capacity of 82,500. Yet, like all the ones we mentioned so far, Stadium Australia, too, can have over 28,000 additional seats, which was the case in the 2000 Olympics closing ceremony, where the attendance was nearly 115,000 people.

Despite this super big capacity, Stadium Australia will be used for only one match in the group stage, the tournament’s second match to be played between Australia and the Republic of Ireland. This match is also scheduled on 20 July.

Stadium Australia is hosting one match in the round of 16 that should be played between the winners of groups B and D on 7 August, a quarter-final match on 12 August, a semi-final match on the 16th as well as the final match scheduled on 20 August.

6. Sydney Football Stadium

Also located in Sydney, Australia, the Sydney Football Stadium, or the Allianz Stadium as it is commercially known, is the youngest stadium of all the ones contributing to the 2023 Women’s World Cup. It was just opened in August 2022 with a capacity of 42,500 people.

This stadium was chosen to host five matches in the group stage that come as follows: France versus Jamaica on the 23 July, Colombia versus South Korea on 25 July, England versus Denmark on the 28th, Germany and Colombia on the 30th and finally, Panama versus France on 2 August 2.

It is also going to host one match of the round of 16, the one between the winners of groups E and G, on 6 August before it says goodbye to the World Cup

7. Lang Park

Unlike the Sydney Football Stadium, the Lang Stadium is a pretty old one established over a century ago, in 1914. It is as big as to host 52,500 people. In April 2022, over 6,000 extra seats were added to contain a total audience of 59,185 members who came from all corners of Australia to see Ed Sheeran perform in the stadium.

Lang Park is located in Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, which is one of the six States of Australia. So the stadium is sometimes referred to as Brisbane Football Stadium.

Lang Park is going to host five matches in the group stage. The first one is between England and Haiti on 22 July, then there is the Argentina versus Nigeria match on the 27th, France and Brazil on the 29th, the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria on the 31st and finally, on 3 August, South Korea will play Germany.

Aside from those, three other matches will be played in Lang Park, one in each of the following stages except for the semi-final. So it is hosting a match in the round of 16 between the winners of groups D and B on 7 August, one quarter-final match on 12 August and the third place playoff on 19 August.

8. Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is the fourth one to be used in Australia and is also among the most recently opened ones. It is located in, yes, Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria, one of Australia’s six states and the smallest one too. It, the stadium, not the state, has a capacity of 30,050 people, and it did receive some renovations to be able to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is hosting four matches in the group stage, with the first one taking off on the very second day of the competition, 21 July, between Nigeria and Canada. Then it will host three more matches between Morocco and Germany on 24 July, Canada and Australia on the 31st and Jamaica and Brazil on 2 August.

For the round of 16, the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is going to host two matches. The first one will be between the winners of groups G and E on 6 August, and the other is between the winners of groups H and F on 8 August.

9. Perth Rectangular Stadium

The Perth Rectangular Stadium is located, of course, in Perth, which is the capital of Western Australia, the largest state in the entire country. It was one of the most profound and oldest stadiums in Australia, for it was opened in 1910. Since its opening and up until 2002, it used to have an oval shape, but apparently, this did not appeal to the government anymore, so they redeveloped the stadium and changed it into a rectangular field.

This stadium has a relatively small capacity, however. When games are held, it can host 20,500 people at the minimum and almost 27,500 at the maximum. But if it is concerts that are being held there, oh yea, the stadium can expand to 32,000 seats.

For the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the Perth Rectangular Stadium is hosting five matches, all of which belong to the group stage. The first match will be played on 22 July between Denmark and China, then another on 26 July will take place between Canada and the Republic of Ireland, followed by Panama and Jamaica on the 29th as well as two matches on the first and third of August between Haiti and Denmark and Morocco and Colombia.

And this is where the Perth Rectangular Stadium’s journey at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup ends.

10. Hindmarsh Stadium

The Hindmarsh Stadium is the 10th and final stadium used at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, located in Hindmarsh, a cosy suburb in Adelaide, South Australia. Its establishment, which goes as far back as 1960, took only one year.

This stadium is the smallest of the 10, too, for it has a capacity of just 16,500 people, and the maximum it can be expanded to is a little over 18,000.

Despite that, the Hindmarsh Stadium is set to host four matches in the group stage. The first is between Brazil and Panama on 24 July; the second is on the 28th between China and Haiti, the third is between South Korea and Morocco on the 30th, and the last one is between China and England, which is supposed to take place on 1 August. One match in the knockout stage between the winners of groups F and H will be held in the Hindmarsh Stadium on 8 August.

Hosting such a month-long tournament in many cities scattered around Australia and New Zealand, in fact, provides fans with a great chance to explore many attractions, engage with people from different cultures, try unique cuisines and, which is exclusive to those coming from the Northern Hemisphere, enjoy the fact that winter can normally occur in July.