THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND’S 2023 Women’s World Cup opener against co-hosts Australia is heading for an 83,500 sell-out in Sydney.
Ireland’s major tournament debut on 20 July was recently moved to Stadium Australia from the 42,500-capacity Sydney Football Stadium due to the demand for tickets.
The Matildas’ popularity in Australia and the huge Irish diaspora Down Under saw tickets snapped up quickly, and others missing out. Tickets purchased before the venue switch remain valid with fans relocated, while a new batch went on sale overnight.
The42 understands Fifa’s most recent sale was a success with the ticket allocation — 20,000 is the figure reported in Australia — exhausted in less than an hour.
Hearing that approx 20k tickets for Matildas vs Ireland went on sale today - and all were gone in less than an hour. More will go on sale on April 11, but every one that's gone on sale so far for that match have been sold out. Still plenty available for other games. #FIFAWWC
— Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) February 24, 2023
A last-minute sales phase will begin on 11 April, and supporters are encouraged to regularly check fifa.com/tickets. It’s understood 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 in history. A crowd of 90,185 watched the USA defeat China in the 1999 World Cup final.
Vera Pauw’s Ireland will play in front of their biggest crowd ever in the opener, before further Group B clashes against Canada in Perth and Nigeria in Brisbane.
Ireland’s warm-up schedule is now complete, with a double-header of international friendlies against world champions USA confirmed for April.
The Girls In Green played out a 0-0 draw with China PR in Spain this week as they concluded a 10-day training camp, while they’re due to face Zambia and France in Tallaght Stadium send-off games on 22 June and 6 July respectively.
