The Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is expected to break all-time attendance records for the tournament.
By June, over 1 million tickets had been sold, with FIFA expecting the total attendance record to be broken as women’s football enjoys an explosion of popularity.
The 2023 tournament should comfortably surpass the existing record thanks in part to the expanded format with a record high 32 teams playing 64 games.
Not every game will prove a huge draw. Organisers in New Zealand responded to low demand for four such matches by offering to give away 20,000 tickets, including matches featuring debutants Zambia.
The attendances at the tournament, and how they compare between the two host nations, will be an interesting point of observation, and The Sporting News looks back at the attendance records for previous tournaments, and the stadiums hosting the games in 2023.
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2023 Women’s World Cup attendance tracker
The largest attendance so far was Australia’s opener in Stadium Australia, where 75,784 saw the Matildas’ victory over the Republic of Ireland. It was a record home crowd for a women’s football match in Australia and the third largest in Women’s World Cup history.
It’s worth noting that the 42,137 that came out to watch New Zealand’s opener represented the biggest crowd in the country’s football history — men’s or women’s.
The match with the smallest attendance thus far is the Portugal vs Vietnan, Group E match (6,645) in Waikato, New Zealand.
Date
(in AUS/NZL)
Match
Stadium
Official
Attendance
% Capacity
Thu, July 20
New Zealand vs Norway
Eden Park
42,137
87.3%
Thu, July 20
Australia vs Rep. of Ireland
Stadium Australia
75,784
91.8%
Fri, July 21
Nigeria vs Canada
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
21,410
71.2%
Fri, July 21
Philippines vs Switzerland
Forsyth Barr Stadium
13,711
47.7%
Fri, July 21
Spain vs Costa Rica
Wellington Regional Stadium
22,966
58.9%
Sat, July 22
USA vs Vietnam
Eden Park
41,107
85.1%
Sat, July 22
Zambia vs Japan
Waikato Stadium
16,111
64.2%
Sat, July 22
England vs Haiti
Lang Park
44,369
84.9%
Sat, July 22
Denmark vs China
Perth Rectangular Stadium
16,989
76.4%
Sun, July 23
Sweden vs South Africa
Wellington Regional Stadium
18,317
47.0%
Sun, July 23
Netherlands vs Portugal
Forsyth Barr Stadium
11,991
41.7%
Sun, July 23
France vs Jamaica
Sydney Football Stadium
39,045
91.8%
Mon, July 24
Italy vs Argentina
Eden Park
30,889
64.0%
Mon, July 24
Germany vs Morocco
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
27,256
90.7%
Mon, July 24
Brazil vs Panama
Hindmarsh Stadium
13,142
71.3%
Tue, July 25
Colombia vs South Korea
Sydney Football Stadium
24,323
57.2%
Tue, July 25
New Zealand vs Philippines
Wellington Regional Stadium
32,357
82.9%
Tue, July 25
Switzerland vs Norway
Waikato Stadium
10,769
41.7%
Wed, July 26
Japan vs Costa Rica
Dunedin Stadium
6,992
22.7%
Wed, July 26
Spain vs Zambia
Eden Park
20,983
42%
Wed, July 26
Canada vs Rep of. Ireland
Perth Rectangular Stadium
17.065
83.2%
Thu, Jul 27
USA vs Netherlands
Wellington Regional Stadium
27,312
79.1%
Thu, Jul 27
Portugal vs Vietnam
Stadium Waikato
6,645
25.7%
Thu, Jul 27
Australia vs Nigeria
Lang Park
49,156
93.6%
Fri, Jul 28
Argentina vs South Africa
Dunedin Stadium
8,834
30.7%
—————
——————————
TOTAL (24 matches)
639,660
Avg: 28,902
MORE: Where is the next FIFA Women’s World Cup?
Women’s World Cup attendance record for single tournament
The best attended Women’s World Cup in history came in the 2015 edition in Canada, with a total attendance of 1,353,506.
At the time it was the first World Cup to have 24 teams and 52 matches, which was a factor in securing the record.
The next best-attended tournament was the 1999 World Cup hosted by the USA, which had 1,214,209 fans attend 32 matches.
MORE: Odds to win 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
Year
Host country
No. of
matches
Total
Attendance
1991
China
26
510,000
1995
Sweden
26
112,213
1999
USA
32
1,214,209
2003
USA
32
679,664
2007
China
32
1,190,971
2011
Germany
32
845,751
2015
Canada
52
1,353,506
2019
France
52
1,131,312
2023
Australia &
New Zealand
64
TBD
Top 10 Women’s World Cup attendance records all-time
The highest attendance at a single Women’s World Cup match came in 1999, when 90,185 fans turned out to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to firstly watch the third placed playoff between Brazil and Norway, followed by the final, which saw the USA defeat China on penalties.
The next biggest crowd came in the same tournament’s opening fixture, where 78,972 were in attendance at Giants Stadium for a double header of USA vs Denmark and Brazil vs Mexico.
Australia’s opening match against the Republic of Ireland in 2023 is now third on this list, making it the best-attended Women’s World Cup fixture this century.
Match
Year
Country
Stadium
Attendance
Brazil vs Norway &
USA vs China
1999
USA
Rose Bowl
90,185
USA vs Denmark &
Brazil vs Mexico
1999
USA
Giants Stadium
78,972
Australia vs Republic of Ireland
2023
Australia
Stadium Australia
75,784
Germany vs Canada
2011
Germany
Olympiastadion
73,680
USA vs Brazil
1999
USA
Stanford Stadium
73,123
USA vs Nigeria &
Brazil vs Italy
1999
USA
Soldier Field
65,080
China PR vs Norway
1991
China
Tianhe Stadium
65,000
Norway vs USA
1991
China
Tianhe Stadium
63,000
USA vs Netherlands
2019
France
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
57,900
China vs New Zealand
2007
China
Tianjin Olympic Stadium
55,832
2023 Women’s World Cup stadium capacities
There are a total of 10 stadiums being used at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, with six in Australia and four in New Zealand.
The largest stadium at the tournament is Stadium Australia in Sydney, which can hold 82,500 fans, while New Zealand’s largest stadium is Auckland’s Eden Park, which has a capacity of over 48,000.
Stadium
Capacity
City
Country
Stadium Australia
82,500
Sydney
Australia
Lang Park
52,263
Brisbane
Australia
Eden Park
48,276
Auckland
New Zealand
Sydney Football Stadium
42,512
Sydney
Australia
Wellington Regional Stadium
39,000
Wellington
New Zealand
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
30,052
Melbourne
Australia
Forsyth Barr Stadium
28,744
Dunedin
New Zealand
Waikato Stadium
25,111
Hamilton
New Zealand
Perth Rectangular Stadium
22,225
Perth
Australia
Hindmarsh Stadium
18,435
Adelaide
Australia
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