Page 4 - Fifa World Cup

Attendance and ticket records keep growing at 2023 Women's World Cup

With Matildas' matches becoming hot tickets, Australia's run to the Women's World Cup semifinals and the expanded 32-team format have helped set records for attendance at the tournament. Soccer's international governing body said Tuesday that 1.77 million tickets have been sold for the tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, with a total 1,734,028 attendance for the 60 games. The record match attendance for the 2023 edition is 75,784 for three games under a restricted capacity at Sydney's Stadium Australia, which was built for the 2000 Olympics. FIFA said the average crowd for games across the 10 venues has been 28,900, more than 7,000 above the average for games at the 2019 edition in France and more than 4,000 above the historical average at the eight previous Women's World Cups. The competition was expanded from 24 to 32 teams for this edition. Australia reached the semifinals for the first time with a 7-6 penalty shootout win over France in Brisbane last Satur

FIFA Women's World Cup: England beat Colombia 2-1, meet Australia in last 4

The tests keep coming for England at the Women's World Cup and the Lionesses keep roaring. Alessia Russo fired England into the semifinals with a second-half goal to beat Colombia 2-1 on Saturday in a game that showcased the resolve of Sarina Wiegman's team and set up a clash with co-host Australia. We always find a way through," said Russo, whose goal completed a come-from-behind win after Leicy Santos had given Colombia a first-half lead. One of the strongest things about this team is we never give up. England advanced to the last four for the third consecutive Women's World Cup, despite going into the tournament with a host of key players out injured. Kiera Walsh was then sidelined after hurting her knee in the second game of the group stage and Lauren James is serving a two-game suspension for stepping on Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie in the round of 16. Yet England keep coming up with answers. We've had lots of challenges, and we've got through these challenges," Wiegman

Women's World Cup: Australia edge France on penalty to reach semi-finals

Australia edged France on penalty kicks Saturday to reach FIFA Women's World Cup semi-finals for the first time. Cortnee Vine took Australia's 10th penalty from the spot and calmly converted it to give the Matildas a 7-6 win in the shootout after the quarterfinal match finished 0-0 after regulation and extra time. The Australians missed two earlier chances to clinch a dramatic shootout. But ultimately, it didn't matter, as they ended a long curse for tournament hosts. The Australians became the only team other than the United States of America to advance past the quarterfinals of a Women's World Cup as the host nation. Australia will play either England or Colombia next Wednesday in Sydney for a spot in the final. Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold kept the Matildas in the game in extra time and made a string of clutch saves in the shootout before and after missing her own attempt that could have sealed the win. Both teams had chances to win it in regulation, and Sam Kerr's f

Fifa Women's World Cup: South Africa shock Italy 3-2, knock them out

Italy's players dropped to their knees, buried their faces and tearfully wondered how their tournament had suddenly ended following a shocking upset to South Africa in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. The 54th-ranked team in the world stunned Italy, ranked 16th by FIFA, with a 3-2 victory over the Italians in Wednesday's Group G finale. South Africa won with a stoppage-time goal by Thembi Kgatlana. South Africa was ecstatic as players screamed and danced and said thankful prayers in the hallway leading to their locker room. The Italians left in tears and were unable to explain the upset. "I really don't know," goalkeeper Francesca Durante said after the match. "I don't know what didn't work." Nearly every player took the blame for the early elimination, even Arianna Caruso, who scored both of Italy's goals. "I don't think I can find the right words at this moment," Caruso said. "I am not happy because we scored two goals and we didn't do anything." Italy's problems against Sou

FIFA Women's World Cup: Drawing of lots will decide which team goes ahead

What happens if teams finishing even on points cannot be separated by all of FIFA's tournament tiebreakers following the completion of the group stage at the Women's World Cup? Soccer's world governing body has confirmed it's the drawing of lots, So, luck of the draw really could determine which team advances to the Round of 16 and which team goes home. FIFA issued a statement explaining the drawing of lots will only occur should all steps, as outlined in Article 13 of the Competition Regulations, prove unable to determine the ranking. The tournament's tiebreaker criteria starts with which of the tied teams in the group has superior goal difference in its group matches and the greatest number of goals scored. If that's not enough to determine a final rankings, then the head-to-head results between the teams concerned is the tiebreaker. If that doesn't work, it goes down to a tabulation of how many yellow and red cards each team has accrued through the tournament. In the highly ...

Messi's Instagram post offers hope to his fans about World Cup 2026

Lionel Messi's Instagram post could hint at the Argentina star's unexpected return to the World Cup stage in 2026 after initially denying any such possibility

Qatar Airways posts $1.2 bn profit over FY23 when it hosted FIFA World Cup

Qatar Airways said Thursday it earned a profit of USD 1.2 billion over the last fiscal year, boosted in part by the small Arabian Peninsula country's hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar Airways, like other carriers in Gulf Arab nations, relies on the country's location to ferry passengers between the East and West. Its earned revenue of USD 20.9 billion over the year is up from USD 14.4 billion the year before. Those figures stand in contrast to the USD 4.1 billion loss it suffered in the 2021 fiscal year amid the coronavirus pandemic and the grounding of its fleet. Qatar Airways' profit of USD 1.2 billion is down slightly from USD 1.5 billion last fiscal year. Part of that came from a spike in operating expenses, particularly in jet fuels as energy prices rose after the grip of the pandemic loosened and air travel resumed. Qatar Airways received a USD 3 billion infusion from the government during the pandemic to keep it afloat. As the global travel industry continued its ..

India's road to Fifa World Cup 2026: All you need to know about qualifiers

India have been drawn in group A of the AFC FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers along with Qatar, Kuwait and the winner of the Round 1 clash between Afghanistan and Mongolia

Ticket sales top 1.5 million for FIFA Women's WC in Australia, New Zealand

A New Zealand family of five purchased the tickets that took the sales total to 1.5 million for the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup on Monday. Soccer's world governing body says the tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand is on track to be the best attended in the competition's history. FIFA said that the 1,500,000th ticket went to Auckland woman Maria Strong, who bought tickets for her husband and three children to attend Italy's Group G win over Argentina at Eden Park as part of a family celebration for her son's 12th birthday. In a statement, FIFA said the sales target had been surpassed within the first five days of the month-long tournament, setting the 2023 edition on course to surpass 2015 in Canada for the record attendance. More than 1.35 million people attended a 52-game tournament in Canada. The tournament has expanded to 32 teams this year. The opening games set records for women's soccer matches in both co-host countries. The crowd at New Zealand's upset

FIFA Women's World Cup: Opening ceremony focused on First Nations

The Women's World Cup opened Thursday with an elaborate greeting from the Maori people of New Zealand and the First Nations people of Australia. In a moment intended by FIFA to stress the cultural roots of tournament co-hosts New Zealand and Australia, along with international unity, the roughly 10-minute ceremony focused on groups of people meeting peacefully at the center of Eden Park. For New Zealand, volunteers held aloft an artistic representation of a giant stingray, which in traditional beliefs is said to have been caught by the demi-god Maui and turned into what has become the country's North Island. A giant rainbow serpent, representing Australia, was likewise held up by the cast and joined the stingray. Monique Maihi-Pihema, a descendant of the Ngati Whatua Orakei tribe that has the historical rights over Eden Park, where the opening match between New Zealand and Norway took place, sang a traditional calling to welcome the Australians. The ceremony ended with the official

FIFA Women's World Cup: Wilkinson takes New Zealand to 1-0 win over Norway

Hannah Wilkinson scored to open the second half and New Zealand went on to beat Norway 1-0 on Thursday for its first-ever win at the Women's World Cup, just hours after a shooting in downtown Auckland shocked the host nation. A gunman stormed a high-rise construction site near Norway's team hotel and opened fire, killing two people. The gunman was found dead after a police shootout. There was increased security at Eden Park stadium, where 42,137 a record crowd for a soccer match in New Zealand were on hand to cheer on the home team, co-hosts of the tournament with Australia. New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was among those at the game. After an opening ceremony that honored New Zealand's Indigenous heritage, there was a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting. Four people were wounded in the attack, including an police officer. New Zealand got the nod to stage the first game, although co-host Australia's match against Ireland in Sydney started about an hour ...

FIFA Women's World Cup turns the spotlight on an unequal playing field

From prize money to exposure, players struggle against biases despite ranking higher than the men

Fifa made false claims about 'carbon-neutral' World Cup: Swiss regulator

FIFA made false claims about last year's World Cup in Qatar being carbon neutral, an advertising regulator in Switzerland said Wednesday. FIFA was not able to provide proof that the claims were accurate, the federally recognized Swiss Commission for Fairness said in its judgment into complaints filed from five countries. The commission said it advised FIFA to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims in the future. Particularly the claim that the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was climate- or carbon-neutral. FIFA said in a statement it would analyze the recommendations and had the right of appeal. The ruling is not legally binding. Qatar spent more than $200 billion on a decade-long construction program of mostly air-conditioned projects to prepare for hosting the soccer tournament in the gas-rich emirate. It relied on using hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers working in widely criticized conditions. Seven of the eight stadiums used including one with a facade of shipping ..

The Super Bowl pitch: Indian Premier League wins the audience Test

Not surprisingly, fans and cricket buffs are comparing it to the likes of the American NFL's Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup

Revenge tourism, World Cup fever drive transactions in FY23: Razorpay

Spend on flight tickets grew by 83% and expenses on hotel accommodations nearly doubled in value compared to the previous financial year

FIFA awards 2022: Winners list, category, and nominees

This was the seventh FIFA football award ceremony since its inception in 2016, check out the full FIFA awards 2022 winners list

FIFA reserves at $4 billion after World Cup success; more to come in 2026

FIFA had reserves of almost USD 4 billion after a financially successful 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and booming hospitality and ticket sales at the 2026 tournament in North America are expected to add billions to the income of soccer's international governing body. FIFA detailed "exceptionally robust" finances in its 2022 annual report late Tuesday that saw the annual bonus of President Gianni Infantino rise by 620,000 Swiss francs (USD 673,000). His pre-tax base salary and bonus package totalled 3.6 million Swiss francs (USD 3.9 million) plus more FIFA-paid expenses and benefits. At the World Cup in November, FIFA announced record revenue of almost USD 7.6 billion for the four-year commercial cycle through 2022 that is mostly earned by the men's World Cup. FIFA said its reserves stood at USD 3.97 billion at year's end compared with USD 1.6 billion through 2021. "FIFA's financial position remains exceptionally robust and sustainable with a substantial cash base and sufficient reserve

UK economy grows unexpectedly in Nov by 0.1% amid strong services

The UK economy grew unexpectedly in November as the tight job market increased demand for employment services and soccer's World Cup boosted hospitality. Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity, increased 0.1 per cent from the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. That beat the expectations of economists, who had forecast a 0.2 per cent contraction. Despite the better-than-expected figures, the ONS says monthly GDP estimates should be treated with caution because they are more volatile than quarterly data. Economists are waiting for the release of fourth-quarter GDP data next month, which will show whether the British economy shrank from a second consecutive quarter in the three months through December. Two quarters of negative growth is one definition of a recession. November's expansion was driven by a 2 per cent growth in administrative and support activities, with employment services growing 2.1 per cent, the ONS said. ...

Australia to host football cup of nations ahead of FIFA Women's World Cup

Australia's national women's football team will play home games against Spain, the Czech Republic and Jamaica ahead of the FIFA Women's World Cup

In focus at Fifa World Cup, tech is at play on Indian sports fields too

From AI-driven cameras to websites and apps that log and help analyse data