It has been decided that the Women's FIFA World Cup scheduled for 2023 will be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia! This is exactly the same as the Men's FIFA World Cup being co-hosted by Japan and South Korea!
New Zealand and Australia have been aiming to co-host the event under the slogan "As One."
WE DID IT!
— AsOne2023 (@AsOne2023) June 25, 2020
Australia and New Zealand have been granted the honor of hosting the @FIFAWWC 2023!
This landmark decision is a moment for everyone to celebrate #AsOne !
We stand ready to welcome the world and deliver the best ever @FIFAWWC 🇦🇺⚽️🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/L5zstNwIUP
Japan withdrew from the bid a few days ago
The Japan Football Association had been promoting its bid for the 2023 tournament, but decided to withdraw on June 22nd.
Considering the global popularity of women's soccer, the decision to withdraw was made because it felt more appropriate to support the tournament co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, which would be the first time the tournament was held in the Southern Hemisphere, rather than hosting it in Japan, where the Olympics are also coming up.
When it was decided that the games would be held in New Zealand and Australia, the fact that there would be no burden due to time differences, etc. was also a major reason.
Thanks to Japan's withdrawal, the event was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia!
→ Japan withdraws from bid to host FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. *Link currently broken
New Zealand's soccer situation
When you think of New Zealand, you think of rugby. Both the men's and women's teams maintain their place in the top two of the world rankings (almost always first place!).
In such a rugby-powerful country, soccer inevitably has a low profile, but it is still considered a major sport after rugby, basketball, cricket and netball.
Currently, men's soccer is ranked 122nd in the world, while women's soccer is ranked 23rd. Women's teams are doing better, such as the United States, which won the last Women's World Cup.
In addition, the men's team has participated in the World Cup twice in the past, while the women's team has only participated five times.
In 2023, when the tournament will be held in Japan, there are high hopes that they will advance beyond the group stage for the first time.
We did it!!! The @FIFAWWC is coming to Australia and New Zealand!!! #AsOne pic.twitter.com/YrPZwduJsE
— New Zealand Football (@NZ_Football) June 25, 2020
By the way, netball is not very familiar to Japanese people, but it is a sport that was created based on basketball as a sport for women. It is played in New Zealand, the UK, Australia, and other countries. It has strict rules that are quite different from basketball, such as prohibiting dribbling, contact with the player holding the ball, and approaching within 90cm of the player's feet.
Nicknames of national sports teams
It is well known around the world that the New Zealand men's rugby team is nicknamed the All Blacks , while the New Zealand men's football team is known as the All Whites .
The New Zealand women's rugby team is the Black Ferns , and the New Zealand women's football team is the Football Ferns .
Just as the men's rugby team and women's soccer team are the All Blacks and All Whites, it would be easy to remember that the women's rugby team and women's soccer team are the Black Ferns and White Ferns, but the White Ferns is the nickname for the women's cricket team . It's confusing.
Ferns are the plant ferns. New Zealand is a treasure trove of ferns, and the silver fern is considered the country's identity and is used as the national emblem and the logo of the All Blacks. Its leaves are silvery white, and it was also an object of worship for the Maori.
In addition to the Black Ferns (women's rugby), Football Ferns (women's soccer) and White Ferns (women's cricket), the Silver Ferns are the nickname for the national netball team, the most popular women's sport in New Zealand, and the Tall Ferns are the nickname for the women's basketball team , with Ferns being used as part of the affiliation for women's sports.
By the way, the men's basketball team is, as you might imagine, Tall Blacks ( laughs).
Cricket, Rugby and Football World Cup
New Zealand will also host the Women's Cricket and Rugby World Cups in 2021, followed by football in 2023 and hosting other international women's sporting events.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also posted a message of delight at the decision to hold the event.
There are also high expectations for economic benefits from hosting a major event. However, this is also premised on the development of COVID-19 vaccines and medicines and the opening of New Zealand's borders. There are concerns about the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for next year, but it is said that it will be difficult to hold an international event unless overseas travel becomes a reality.
In New Zealand, there are still cases of infection among people returning from overseas, and although there are no serious cases, 16 people are currently in quarantine. There are concerns about community infection. It seems that it will be a while before the borders are reopened, but we can only hope that it will be realized before international sporting events are held.
