World Cup’s joint hosts
The ninth Women’s World Cup will break all manner of records, not least for distance covered by an expanded field of 32 teams. Spanning five time zones, two nations and more than 3,000 miles, the 2023 finals will take FIFA into previously uncharted territory.
The first female finals in the southern hemisphere will also be the first joint-hosted women’s tournament, with Australia and New Zealand’s combined candidacy defeating Colombia. They were the last two standing from a nine-strong field when FIFA convened electronically in late June to determine the hosts.
In the end the vote was comfortable, and deservedly so. After issues with the Japan-South Korea men’s World Cup in 2002, FIFA has reservations about joint-hosting. But Australia and New
