New Zealand need to lift ticket sales for Women's World Cup: FIFA
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[June 22, 2023]
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Women's World Cup co-hosts New Zealand
need to lift ticket sales in coming weeks given the relatively
modest "selling power" of the national Football Ferns team, FIFA
executive Sarai Bareman has said.
Bareman, FIFA's chief women's football officer, said she had less
concerns about co-hosts Australia where a record crowd of more than
40,000 are expected for the Matildas' World Cup warmup match against
France in Melbourne on July 14.
"I have to say my focus is a little bit more on New Zealand as we
don’t have the luxury of the Matildas here," Bareman told a New
Zealand Herald podcast.
"In Australia, they are the darlings of the country. Sam Kerr is an
absolute superstar and the whole country is in love with football
because of the Matildas.
"There’s that selling power that the Matildas have that we don’t
quite have here yet in New Zealand with the Football Ferns.
"So there’s a bit more of a lift to do in the coming weeks."
More than one million tickets have been sold for the July 20 - Aug.
20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, putting the tournament on
track to become the most attended, stand-alone women's sporting
event ever.
New Zealand, which is hosting 29 of the 64 matches, had sold nearly
250,000 tickets, local organisers told Reuters last week.
The Football Ferns have been on a 10-match winless streak dating
back to 2022 and may struggle to reach the World Cup's knock-out
rounds.
The home team are nonetheless expecting big crowds for their group
matches, with Auckland's Eden Park tipped for a sell-out for the
opener against Norway.
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Soccer Football - Women's World Cup -
Round of 16 - Norway v Australia - Allianz Riviera, Nice, France -
June 22, 2019 Australia players before the match REUTERS/Jean-Paul
Pelissier/File Photo
Other matches may be a harder sell in a country
famously obsessed with rugby union but boasting little soccer
tradition.
Australia, which has high expectations of the Matildas and thrilled
in the men's team's advance to the knock-out phase of the World Cup
in Qatar, is expecting record crowds at the women's tournament.
The biggest attendance for a stand-alone women's soccer match in
Australia was 36,109 when the hosts played the world champion United
States in November, 2021 at Sydney's Olympic Stadium.
Governing body Football Australia said on Thursday that record is
set to be smashed at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium against France.
Australia's World Cup opener against Ireland was switched to
Sydney's 69,000-capacity Olympic Stadium from the smaller Sydney
Football Stadium due to high ticket demand.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman and Stephen Coates)
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