The largest women’s sporting event in the world will kick off in Adelaide/Tarntanya for the first time when Brazil takes on Panama tonight as part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.
Marking an historic moment for South Australia, it is the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere, and the first of five matches at the newly redeveloped Hindmarsh Stadium. Demand for the history-making moment has been strong, with the current ticket allocation exhausted across all five matches.
Records have already been broken for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, with the Matildas’ opening game reaching 4.88 million in Australia – the highest figure ever registered in Australia for a FIFA Women’s World Cup match.
Broadcast in more than 200 territories worldwide, hosting the globally significant sporting event will mean the eyes of the world are on Adelaide/Tarntanya. It is anticipated the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be watched by a television audience of two billion.
The Brazil and Panama match-up is set to entertain, with Brazil – ranked ninth in the world – a country that has an embedded and unrivalled passion for football, and Panama making its FIFA Women’s World Cup debut.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 is on track to become the most attended standalone women’s sporting event in history, with more than 1.4 million tickets sold. The spread of those tickets also affirms the increased global nature of women’s football, as fans residing in 182 different countries have purchased their tickets to head down under. Aside from the two hosts, the top 10 countries for ticket sales are the USA, England, Qatar, China PR, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, and Nigeria.
Fans still looking for a ticket to tonight or any of the five matches at Hindmarsh Stadium are encouraged to keep checking fifa.com/tickets and the FIFA ticket resale platform as additional tickets may become available.
The Brazil versus Panama match will be played live on the big screen at the FIFA Fan Festival at Adelaide’s Festival Plaza – the place where you can have a FIFA Women’s World Cup experience outside of official match venues, and entry is free.
All three games being played across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand will be live streamed into the FIFA Fan Festival today which opens at 3pm, and includes:
- 3.30pm Italy v Argentina live streamed from Auckland
- 6.00pm Germany v Morocco live streamed from Melbourne
- 8.30pm Brazil v Panama live streamed from Hindmarsh Stadium.
Minister for Tourism, Zoe Bettison said the day has finally arrived for South Australia to host the first of five FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 matches, and show the world just how well our state delivers international sporting events.
“The atmosphere is sure to be electric tonight as thousands of fans pack out the newly redeveloped Hindmarsh Stadium, experiencing the world’s largest women’s sporting event live,” Minister Bettison said.
“Football fanatics are also set to gather at the free-to-enter FIFA Fan Festival in Adelaide’s Festival Plaza, enjoying the energy of a crowd as well as some of South Australia’s best culinary and beverage delights.
“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 matches follow a bumper calendar of elite international sporting events already held this year in Adelaide/ Tarntanya, which all trigger visitation to help boost our state’s visitor economy and broadcast South Australia to engaged viewers worldwide.”
Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing, Katrine Hildyard said this is an historic moment for Adelaide as we welcome the FIFA Women’s World Cup to our state for SA’s first match tonight.
“Hosting a women’s sporting event of such global significance is a defining moment for South Australia, and will no doubt leave a lasting impression for so many across our state,” Minister Hildyard.
“The massive global audience, expected to reach two billion worldwide, will provide a tremendous opportunity to showcase South Australia on the world stage.
“It also provides a massive opportunity to transform attitudes toward women across the world as we see support for this tournament exponentially grow.
“I wish the teams of Brazil and Panama all the best in tonight’s game, and I encourage South Australians to get behind this historic moment, whether it’s in the stands at Hindmarsh Stadium or soaking in the festival atmosphere at the FIFA Fan Festival, this is our time to get behind this transformative, record breaking moment and to show our support for these magnificent women.”
