With over a million tickets sold, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is on pace to draw the largest female sports audience ever, FIFA announced on Thursday.
The ninth Women’s World Cup, which begins on July 20, has sold 1,032,884 tickets, more than the previous event in France in 2019. According to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“The future is women, thanks to the fans for supporting what will be the greatest Women’s World Cup ever!,” Infantino said in a statement.
“The momentum is building in the host countries and across the globe, and I look forward to seeing you there to witness the stars of women’s football shine on the world stage.”
FIFA had already announced that Australia’s opening match against Ireland will change venue to the 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia, the tournament’s largest stadium, due to high public demand for tickets.
This will allow up to 100,000 fans to attend the World Cup‘s opening games, with the match between co-hosts New Zealand and Norway taking place hours before in Auckland.
FIFA announces new payment model for Women’s World Cup 2023
For the Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand, FIFA on Friday unveiled its new member association distribution plan, under which each participant would get at least 30,000 US dollars.
The financial distribution states that each player will receive 30,000 dollars for the group stage and 270,000 dollars for the winners, with the prize money for each participant between the round of 16 and the runners-up ranging from 60,000 to 195,000 dollars.
FIFA said the initiative marks another concrete step to develop women’s football and ensure players receive a fair deal, a commitment that they hopes sets a standard across the industry, Xinhua reported.
“Under this unprecedented new distribution model, each individual player at the Women’s World Cup 2023 can now fully rely on remuneration for their efforts as they progress through the tournament,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
FIFA has allocated a minimum of 1.56 million U.S. dollars to each participating member association, while the winners will receive a distribution of 4.29 million U.S. dollars. According to FIFA, the budget for the Women’s World Cup 2023 exceeds 500 million U.S. dollars.