A New Zealand family of five bought tickets worth a total of £1.5 million for the Women's World Cup on Monday. Football's world governing body says the tournament hosted by Australia and New Zealand is on track to be the best in the tournament's history. FIFA said 1,500,000 tickets went to Auckland wife Maria Strong, who bought her husband and three children tickets to watch Italy's Group G win over Argentina at Eden Park as part of a family celebration for her son's 12th birthday. In a statement, FIFA said the sales target had been exceeded in the first five days of the tournament, putting the 2023 edition ahead of the 2015 edition in Canada with record attendance. More than 1.35 million people attended the 52 Games in Canada.
The competition has expanded to 32 teams this year. The inaugural match set a record for women's football in both host countries. The crowd for New Zealand's upset win over Norway last Thursday set a new record of 42,137. Australia's 1-0 win over Ireland drew 75,784 spectators to Australia Stadium, which also hosts the August 20 final. "We're seeing an increase in support for women's football, not just in ticket sales but also in media audiences, festival attendance, performers, and sales," Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said. Football Australia said the first 12 games attracted 363,937 spectators. with an average of 30,326 per game over 21,756 for France's 2019 first dozen and a total of 24,780 women's World Cup. The 1999 tournament in the United States holds the record for the highest number of game attendees, drawing 37,944 spectators over 32 games.
"We are seeing a surge in support for women’s football, not just in ticket sales, but also in broadcast viewership, fan festival participation and merchandise sales," Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said.
