Auckland, the Host City, Gears Up for the World Cup Limelight

 

Excitement was mounting throughout Auckland as the city geared up to kick off the Women's World Cup on Wednesday, the result of years of effort to bring the largest standalone women's sporting event ever to its shores.

Though smaller in size compared to most of Australia's host cities, Auckland is nonetheless poised to make a significant impact with Thursday's opening ceremony, followed by the first match pitting New Zealand's Football Ferns against Norway at Eden Park.

Santha Brown, the host city lead, expressed immense pride this week as she oversaw the final preparations for the Fan Festival on Queen's Wharf, where a multitude of events and activities will take place.

"The excitement is palpable across the board," she said.

The Fan Festival, with a capacity of 2,000 spectators, will provide a hub for fans, offering a 34-meter LED screen to watch 48 matches. It will feature a FIFA museum, games, food, and over 85 live performances. Notably, the festival will also host a VIP guest: the World Cup trophy, which will be available for fans to view on July 22 and 23.

Brown believes that this tournament has the potential to be a "major catalyst" in boosting the popularity of the sport in New Zealand, where rugby has long been the dominant sport.

"We have already witnessed a growing interest and awareness," she said.

Throughout the tournament, Auckland will host nine matches at Eden Park, including one semi-final.

SIGNS OF INTEREST:

The kick-off also presents a tantalizing opportunity for the home team to alter their reputation. While Australia's Matildas are genuine title contenders, the Football Ferns have never won a match at a Women's World Cup.

Last week, FIFA announced the giveaway of 20,000 tickets for World Cup games in New Zealand, expressing concerns about the slow pace of ticket sales compared to Australia, where the majority of the approximately 1 million tickets have already been sold.

Veteran Football Fern, Olivia Chance, believes that this quadrennial tournament on her home turf could lead to positive changes.

"America is much more soccer-mad... they support women's soccer incredibly well. And I would love for even just 20% of that support to come here," she told Reuters.

"I know we are smaller, but we can truly make this tournament special with more people in the stadiums."

With digital billboards featuring the women's home team appearing throughout Auckland, Chance has already noticed signs of change.

"People have been stopping us and asking for autographs and photos more than ever in the last week," said Chance. "It shows that we might be more visible than we thought."

The ninth Women's World Cup will run until Aug. 20, with the final taking place in Sydney.