The Matildas’ Women’s World Cup opener against Ireland has been locked in for Sydney’s Accor Stadium – and it could shatter a 23-year tournament record if FIFA’s seating requirements allow for it.
As forecast by this masthead, FIFA has officially approved the move of the clash on July 20, which was originally slated for the new Allianz Stadium, to the city’s biggest venue to allow up to 40,000 more people to take in the historic occasion.
Sam Kerr greets fans after the Matildas’ last match at Accor Stadium against the United States in 2021.Credit:Getty
It is now a question of how many people will be able to be accommodated at the stadium, which was the centrepiece of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and has a nominal capacity of 83,500 people.
But the number of seats that will be made available depends on the sport being played and the differing demands of the venue hirer – which means it’s currently unclear whether the Women’s World Cup standalone opening day record crowd of 78,972, set at Giants Stadium in New York when the United States beat Denmark 3-0 in the first match of the 1999 tournament, can be broken.
That figure is also the second-highest crowd in Women’s World Cup history, with the highest – the 90,185 who watched the 1999 final between the USA and China at the Rose Bowl – unable to be beaten.
In the case of an event like the Women’s World Cup, FIFA will remove dozens of rows from the upper tiers of Accor Stadium to install media tribunes, while other infrastructure – including the team dugouts – will wipe out other seats or at very least restrict their view.
Brandi Chastain celebrates after scoring the winning penalty in their shootout against China in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final.Credit:AP
The final number won’t be known until much closer to the day, making for a nervous wait to see if a new opening day benchmark can be set, with sources anticipating it to land somewhere between 78,000 and just over 80,000.
Either way, the demand for tickets is not in question given the popularity of the Matildas and the size of the Irish diaspora in Australia, and was the reason why Football Australia and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino were so eager for the stadium switch to be made.
Together with the clash between New Zealand and Norway at Auckland’s Eden Park earlier on the same day, more than 100,000 people are expected to take in the first two matches of the Women’s World Cup.
“FIFA’s mission is to organise the biggest and best Women’s World Cup in history this year, and fans, those who bring colour, passion, and atmosphere to Stadiums will be such an integral part of the tournament’s success,” said FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura.
“With this in mind, we have taken a decision that will enable over 100,000 fans to attend the opening matchday, providing more opportunities for supporters to engage with the FIFA Women’s World Cup as a month of football we will never forget gets underway.”
Those who bought tickets at Allianz Stadium don’t need to do anything – FIFA says they will be emailed with new tickets in the same categories as they’d purchased, with more tickets to be made available for people who missed out on the initial batch on February 24 at midday.
While no single match has yet been sold out, FIFA has not yet made all tickets available for the Women’s World Cup and is releasing them in waves, with more than 500,000 sold so far.
The only other question regarding the venue switch was how the surface would hold up, since the Matildas v Ireland match will be played eight days after the third NRL State of Origin clash at Accor Stadium, cutting into FIFA’s usual two-week bump-in period it requires for major tournaments.
A new pitch is currently being grown in western Sydney, which sources say has long been planned to be installed at Accor either just before or just after Origin.
FIFA took this into account while weighing up the decision and gave the green light after a careful assessment of the changeover and other operational matters made it clear it will be up to the standard required for a World Cup.
“FIFA is here to deliver world-class events. We deliver world-class World Cups and this one will be no different,” said FIFA’s chief women’s football officer Sarai Bareman. “There is a lot of due diligence and analysis that has had to go in to make sure that if we made this switch, it doesn’t impact on the world-class product that is the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”
