Organisers of the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, which starts in 100 days, say they are on course to sell a record 1.5 million tickets.
Around 650,000 have been sold for the event in Australia and New Zealand.
“Fifa’s mission is to organise the biggest and best Women’s World Cup in history this year,” said Fifa secretary general Fatma Samoura.
The World Cup, which features England and the Republic of Ireland, starts on 20 July with the final on 20 August.
As well as targeting 1.5m tickets sales, organisers predict the month-long tournament will attract a global television audience of two billion viewers.
Fifa hope more than 100,000 fans will attend the event’s opening day overall, when New Zealand play 1995 winners Norway at the 50,000 capacity Eden Park in Auckland – kick-off at 08:00 BST – and Australia face the Republic of Ireland at the 83,500 capacity Stadium Australia in Sydney (11:00).
Australia’s opening match was originally due to be played at Sydney Football Stadium, which holds 45,500 people, but has been moved to a bigger venue to meet the demand for tickets.
The last phase of ticket sales has just started for what promises to be another big milestone in women’s football.
During the build-up to the 2019 World Cup in France, Fifa said a record 720,000 tickets had been sold with 50 days to go.
On the eve of the tournament 950,000 tickets had been purchased and a week later Fifa said more than 1million tickets had been “allocated to fans around the world”.
However, the number of complimentary tickets handed out, coupled with low ticket prices for some group matches, led to empty seats and fans accusing the organisers of undervaluing the tournament.
