Ireland to play in front of biggest ever crowd after FIFA confirm Sydney stadium switch for Women's World Cup opener

Ireland players and staff celebrate with manager Vera Pauw after qualifying for the Women's World Cup with victory over Scotland at Hampden Park last year. Photo by: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Seán O'Connor

January 30 2023 07:00 PM

FIFA have confirmed that Ireland’s opening Women's World Cup match against Australia has been moved to the 83,500-seater Stadium Australia in Sydney due to the demand for tickets.

The move will see the Girls in Green play in front of the biggest crowd in their history on July 20, after the game was switched from the 42,500-capacity Sydney Football Stadium.

Earlier this month it emerged that FIFA were exploring the possibility of a venue switch after tickets for the clash quickly sold out, given the Matildas’ popularity in Australia coupled with the huge Irish diaspora there.

The move has now been confirmed following an assessment by FIFA and discussions with relevant stakeholders, and will be welcomed by thousands of Irish supporters at home and abroad who initially missed out on tickets.

Tickets for the highly-anticipated match will go on sale at 1.0am Irish time on February 24 through FIFA.com/tickets. A last-minute sales phase will also take place on April 11. The FAI and Football Australia will also be in line for additional allocations.

Should the match sell out as expected, it will become the second-highest attended Women’s World Cup match ever, behind the 90,185 that saw the USA defeat China in the 1999 final.

Stadium Australia, located in the Sydney Olympic Park, was only to host knockout games originally. However, FIFA said due to the “significant interest in tickets,” they took the decision to change the venue following a request from Football Australia.

Supporters who purchased tickets before the venue change will be relocated, with their original tickets still valid. FIFA anticipate a record 1.5 million attendees at this summer’s World Cup – 400,000 more than attended the 2019 finals in France.

Stadium Australia is almost double the capacity of the Sydney Football Stadium, and is located in Homebush, 20km west of Sydney city centre. It was originally built for the 2000 Summer Olympics and also hosts the Australian men’s and women’s national football teams regularly.

Vera Pauw’s side will step up preparations for their first major tournament with a ten-day camp in Spain next month, with a pair of friendlies pencilled in against China and Germany.

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Further camps will take place in April and July before they fly to their World Cup training base in Brisbane. Ireland face Canada in Perth and Nigeria in Brisbane in their other two group games.

“The first match to take place in Australia of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be an even bigger celebration, with co-host country Australia now facing the Republic of Ireland at the tournament’s largest venue, Stadium Australia, in Sydney/Gadigal,” said FIFA in a statement this evening.

"Given the significant interest in tickets, FIFA has taken the decision to move Australia’s first match to Sydney’s largest stadium."

“FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 targets over 100,000 fans for an epic opening matchday,” FIFA added, with co-hosts New Zealand hosting Norway in the opening game, one hour before Australia v Ireland kicks off.

“The kick-off time and date of the Australia v Republic of Ireland match will still be on Thursday, July 20 at 8.0pm Australian Eastern time (11.0am GMT).

“The change of venue for the first match in Australia was agreed due to a desire to ensure that as many fans as possible can attend the fixture.

“Additional single match passes for Australia against the Republic of Ireland will go on sale on Friday February 24 at FIFA.com/Tickets. Sales will commence at midday Australian Eastern time (1.0am GMT).

“For further ticketing information and updates, please visit FIFA.com/tickets regularly.”