MADRID, 29 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
FIFA assured that the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will take place on the scheduled dates, from July 20 to August 20, as reported by ESPN this Friday, after L’Equipe published that the body could be assessing the option of postponing the tournament for a few months.
The French publication wrote on Thursday that FIFA had been in contact with several European soccer bodies to discuss the possibility of postponing the 2023 Women’s World Cup by several months. Thus, the tournament, like the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, would be played in the European winter and the Australian summer.
However, as published by ESPN this Friday, a FIFA spokesman assured that the dates for the next Women’s World Cup remain unchanged and as scheduled so far.
“After a successful ‘One Year To Go’ event, the Women’s World Cup is scheduled to kick off on July 20, 2023,” a FIFA spokesperson told ESPN. “No changes are expected in the dates of the competition,” added the medium in its publication.
Thus, the tournament is scheduled to start on July 20 at Eden Park in Auckland and the final will be played on August 20 at Stadium Australia in Sydney; Tickets will go on sale this October. The tournament draw will also take place next October in Auckland.
According to information from L’Equipe, the change in dates would allow more favorable conditions for the game, such as daylight during the tournament. As well as improving the offer for the World Cup rights, since the French media stated that FIFA received offers significantly lower than the 20 million euros raised for the 2019 tournament in France.
In the event mentioned by the FIFA spokesman, held a week ago, the tournament organizers celebrated that there is only one exact year left for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. “Today is a great day in the preparation for the ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup,” applauded FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura.
ESPN reinforces its information in a testimony from a spokesman for the Australian Football Federation (Football Australia), who insisted that he does not know of any conversation about this possible postponement. “Following recent ‘One Year To The World’ celebrations in Australia and New Zealand, Football Australia continues to plan for the World Cup to start in July next year, as scheduled,” the outlet reported.