FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is underway, and the Round of 16 is almost here, with many teams already booking their place such as USWNT, the Netherlands, Spain and more. However, the tournament is also making history outside of the pitch thanks to setting a new record of tickets sold.
It’s no secret that women’s soccer has been growing in popularity in recent years, and it was expected for the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia to reflect that change. So far, crowds haven’t disappointed with many stadiums packed with fans from all over the world.
Until now, the previous record of attendance to the tournament was around 1.35 million, which was achieved during the 52-game tournament in Canada in 2015. Now, with more games (64 matches) and more teams (32), the record of tickets sold has already been broken.
What is the new record of tickets sold in the Women’s World Cup?
In a statement released Tuesday (August 1), FIFA says ticket sales for the tournament have reached 1.678 million over the first 38 matches. Also, the organization revealed that the total attendance surpassed the million mark with the game between USA and Portugal.
This is not the first record that the tournament has set so far. First, the opening matches on July 20 set two records for attendance to women’s soccer in both co-host countries. In Australia, their 1-0 victory over Ireland was seen by 75,784 fans at Stadium Australia.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s win over Norway set a new national mark of 42,137. However, the World record of attendance to any match of women’s soccer was set in April 2022, when Barcelona played Wolfsburg in the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final at Camp Nou in front of a crowd of 91,648.
