Billed as the biggest women's sporting event on the planet, the Football World Cup kicks off on Thursday, with hosts New Zealand facing Norway at Auckland's Eden Park.
Here's what you need to know about the tournament that culminates on August 20 at Sydney.
- The first official Women's World Cup was hosted by China in 1991, with USA defeating Norway in the final. There have been seven tournament since, with the Americans winning four times, Germany twice, and Norway and Japan once each.
- New Zealand attended the inaugural World Cup and four more as Oceania champions, since Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, but have yet to win a game, recording three draws and 12 losses.
- One of the iconic scenes of the Women's World Cup occurred after the 1999 final, when American Brandi Chastain slotted the winning penalty against China, took off her shirt and waved it above her head, imitating her male counterparts.
- In 2020, Australia and New Zealand won the rights to host the 2023 World Cup in a bidding process that saw them emerge ahead of Colombia. It will be the first jointly hosted women's tournament, after the 2002 men's event was staged in Japan and South Korea, and the first women's tournament held in the southern hemisphere. It's also the first staged across confederations - Australian in Asia and NZ in Oceania.
- The 2023 World Cup will be contested by 32 teams, increased from 24 four years ago in France, while prizemoney is doubled. Players on all teams will receive a guaranteed NZ$49,000, which will increase depending how far they progress into the tournament. Players on the winning team will receive NZ$441,000 each.
- Winners receive a trophy designed in 1998 and made of sterling silver, clad in 23-karat yellow and white gold, valued at about US$30,000. Each winning team can keep their copy of the trophy, while the men's winners are required to pass theirs on, when their reign ends.
- Defending champions USA have won more games than any other nation at the Women's world Cup, with a record of 40 wins, six draws and four losses. Germany (30-5-9) are next, followed by Norway (24-4-12).
- Brazilian Marta is attending her sixth World Cup and is already the all-time leading goalscorer with 17.
- While USA have dominated the Women's World Cup, they have fallen short of gold at the last two Olympics. Germany defeated Sweden in the Rio 2016 final and Canada accounted for the Swedes at Tokyo 2020, with the Americans third.
- The last Women's World Cup in France consisted of 52 games, attracting 1.1 million spectators, slightly down on the 1.3 million at Canada in 2015. The 2023 event will consist of 64 games - 29 in NZ, including a semi-final - with 1.5 million expected attendance.
- Ten venues will host games at the 2023 tournament, including Auckland's Eden Park, Wellington Regional Stadium (Sky Stadium), Dunedin Stadium (Forsyth Barr Stadium) and Waikato Stadium (FMG Stadium). Venue names will drop their branding for the event.
- Women's Football World Cup games can be viewed on Sky Sport.
Join Newshub at 7pm Thursday for live updates of the NZ v Norway World Cup opener
