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With 1.2 million tickets already sold for the month-long FIFA Women's Women’s World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand, when matches kick off tonight fans will be bringing more than just their national colours and chants.
Football Australia is forecasting the event will deliver a social and economic benefit worth $568 million to Australia, where 35 of the 64 games in the tournament will take place.
The association projects that matches hosted in Australia will see 55,004 'unique in scope' international visitors, who stay for nearly 700,000 bed nights and directly spend $169 million into the Australian economy.
Currently the top five sources of international ticket sales have been the US, England, Germany, New Zealand, and the Republic of Ireland.
In a pre-tournament report released on Monday, Football Australia noted more than $357 million in value was already unlocked by football for legacy-related projects connected to Australia's co-hosting of the cup.
Australia's bid for co-hosting rights was underpinned by a strong commitment to transform the football landscape and leave a positive and enduring legacy for future generations.
This led to the launch of an ambitious strategy in February 2021 to bring about economic, social, physical, and mental health benefits as well as social and multicultural inclusion through five key pillars - participation, community facilities, leadership & development, tourism & international engagement, and high performance.
"As we approach the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Australian football is on the verge of greater expansion and the Legacy ’23 plan has laid a solid foundation for revolutionising women’s football and promoting female participation across the nation," Football Australia CEO James Johnson said.
"Through continued collaboration with our government, commercial and football partners we aim to capitalise on the growth opportunities presented by this event, achieving gender equity at all levels of the game for the largest club-based participation sport in the nation."
The Matildas' first match of the World Cup will be against the Republic of Ireland tonight in Sydney, followed by a contest against Nigeria in Brisbane on 27 July, a match against Canada in Melbourne on 31 July, and more if they make it to the knock-out stages.
If the Matildas win their group, they'll be playing in Sydney for the Round of 16, and in Brisbane if they come second.
Sydney will be hosting 11 games in total, split between two stadiums, followed by Brisbane with 8, Melbourne with 6, and Perth and Adelaide with 5 each.
Last month, NSW Minister for Tourism John Graham said the event would help grow the state’s visitor economy and create jobs.
"More than 16,000 visitors are expected to come to Sydney during the tournament, injecting more than $21 million into our state’s visitor economy," Minister Graham said.
Meanwhile, Queensland's Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport estimates the eight matches to be held in Brisbane will generate $30.5 million in economic impact and support 107 full-time jobs.
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