MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Women’s World Cup co-hosts Australia are set to play their warmup match against France in front of a record crowd in Melbourne next month in a boost for organisers of the global showpiece.
Over 40,000 tickets have been snapped up for the Bastille Day clash at Docklands Stadium on July 14, governing body Football Australia said on Thursday.
The biggest attendance for a stand-alone Australian women’s soccer match was 36,109 when the hosts played world champion United States in November, 2021 at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.
More than one million tickets have been sold for the July 20 – Aug 20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, putting the tournament on track to become the most attended, stand-alone women’s sporting event ever.
Australia’s opening match against Ireland was switched to the 69,000-capacity Olympic Stadium due to high demand for tickets.
New Zealand’s opener against Norway is also tipped to be a sell-out at Auckland’s 40,500-capacity Eden Park.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
