FIFA Women’s World Cup opens with attendance records broken in Auckland and Sydney

The opening matches of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup have seen new crowd records set at Auckland’s Eden Park and Sydney’s Stadium Australia (Accor Stadium).

Kicking off the tournament Eden Park set a new record for a football match in New Zealand with 42,137 in attendance form the home team’s opening day win over Norway, followed by a sell-out 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia for Australia's World Cup opener - the largest ever crowd for a women’s sporting event in the country.

In a statement released following New Zealand’s win, Eden Park Chief Executive, Nick Sautner advised “tonight, the world was watching, and Eden Park delivered.

“Eden Park has a proud history of delivering Aotearoa New Zealand’s most memorable sporting moments. Three years in the making, hosting tonight’s highly anticipated opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 between Norway and New Zealand is another milestone in our journey.

“Eden Park continues to demonstrate its commitment to gender equality in sports. This tournament is the third Women’s World Cup held at the stadium in the past two years. Tonight, we once again witnessed history in the making; fans packed the stadium to experience the third-largest sporting event in the world.

“Our great city and country have experienced significant adversity over the last three years, from enduring lockdowns and natural disasters to the heart-wrenching tragedy of today’s shooting incident. Events provide escapism, and amidst such adversity, Eden Park’s ability to draw in fans and provide them with a form of escape through sport is a testament to the unyielding spirit of our community.”

While breaking the record for a football match of either gender in New Zealand, the crowd fell just short of the 42,579 figure posted during last year’s Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and England - also at Eden Park.

The previous record attendance for a football match in New Zealand was 37,034, which was set at Wellington’ Sky Stadium (then known as Westpac Stadium) in 2017 for the men’s team’s World Cup play-off match against Peru.

Eden Park upgrades
Ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Eden Park underwent $33 million program of upgrades, including the installation of new LED broadcasting and stadium lighting, replacement of the turf on the number 1 field, refurbished gender-neutral changing rooms, upgrades to its West Stand function rooms, the creation of Quiet Rooms and sensory areas, new CCTV systems, replacement of its Samsung replay screens and upgrades to its main Samsung SuperScreen.

Other improvements included new turnstiles, hand scanners, gate entry LED screens and safety barriers/bollards at entry points, and upgrades to the retail outlet point-of-sale, building management and electrical systems.

Stadium Australia’s record
The crowd of 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia who saw Australia defeat Ireland smashed the previous record for a Matildas crowd of 50,629 spectators - set just last week at Australia's friendly against France in Melbourne.

FIFA reconfigured the 83,500-seater stadium at Olympic Park - notably making room for media needs - which reduced the number of seats available.

The largest of the venues being used for the Women’s World Cup, Stadium Australia will host four more games during the tournament - a last 16 march, a quarter-final, a semi-final and the final itself will on 20th August.

The Matildas next group games with be played in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Images: Eden Park's record crowd for a football match in New Zealand in is confirmed (top, credit: Eden Park/Photosport NZ), Eden Park prepares for the tournament opening ceremony (middle, credit: Eden Park/) and fans back the Matildas at Stadium Australia (below, credit: Sydney Olympic Park).