Two Attendance Records Broken On Day One Of 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
A total of 117,921 spectators attended the first two games of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Thursday.
The tournament kicked off with New Zealand beating Norway 1-0 in front of 42,137 fans at Eden Park in Auckland.
That set a new record for the biggest ever crowd at a soccer game - either men's or women's - in New Zealand.
New Zealand beat Norway 1-0 in front of 42,137 fans at Auckland's Eden Park
IMAGO/Bildbyran/Vegard Grott
The previous record had been set in 2017 when 37,034 supporters filled the Wellington Regional Stadium to watch New Zealand vs Peru in a qualifying playoff for the 2018 Men's World Cup.
Meanwhile, the biggest crowd for a women's match in New Zealand prior to Thursday had been 16,162. That record was set at the 2008 Under-17 Women's World Cup final when North Korea beat the USA at Auckland's North Harbour Stadium.
Another record fell later on Thursday when 75,784 fans watched Australia beat Ireland 1-0 in Sydney.
That smashed the record for a women's soccer game in Australia. The previous record - 50,629 - had been set earlier this month when the Matildas beat France in a friendly in Melbourne.
Australia beat Ireland 1-0 in front of 75,784 fans at Sydney's Stadium Australia
IMAGO/Inpho Photography/Ryan Byrne
