Strap yourself in — it’s going to be an exciting night as we learn which teams will play their games in New Zealand at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Here’s your guide to the draw which will start at 7.30pm on Saturday night:
How do I watch?
The draw is live on Prime TV (free to air), Sky Sport (pay channel) and through FIFA+ (online stream).
You can watch the FIFA+ stream here >>>>
How will the draw work?
Teams are seeded based on their FIFA world rankings, except for New Zealand and Australia who go into Pot 1 (top seeds) because they are host countries.
Three teams in Pot 4 are yet to be decided — they’ll become known next February after a 10-team qualifying tournament to be held in Auckland and Hamilton.
Eight groups of four teams will be selected by choosing one team from each pot until the pools are completed. Exceptions to the random draw are that New Zealand and Australia will be placed in groups A and B from the start, to keep them apart and playing at home, and no two teams from the same confederation can go into the same group (except for UEFA nations).
Here are the pots:
What should I look for?
Look for who’ll be playing the Football Ferns.
These will be the teams drawn as A2, A3 and A4.
The Ferns fixtures will be:
New Zealand v A2
Thursday July 20, 2023
Eden Park, Auckland
New Zealand v A3
Tuesday July 25, 2023
Sky Stadium, Wellington
A4 v New Zealand
Sunday July 30, 2023
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
The other 12 teams to play their pool games in New Zealand will be those from Groups C, E and G.
Who’ll be at the draw?
About 800 guests will be at the Aotea Centre, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Federal Minister for Sport Anika Wells, as well as FIFA’s top officials and legendary players representing all of football’s confederations.
About 135 delegates will be representing 29 teams already qualified and the 10 teams due to play in the intercontinental play-off series in February.
Thirty-six head coaches from participating nations will be present.
Who’ll conduct the draw?
The television presenters for the evening will be Sky Sport’s Kirstie Stanway and Channel 7’s Mel McLaughlin.
They’ll introduce draw conductors Carli Lloyd, a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion from the United States, and CNN sports anchor Amanda Davies.
Draw assistants will be New Zealand’s Maia Jackman (OFC), Australia’s Julie Dolan (AFC), Zoi Sadowski-Synnott (Aotearoa New Zealand sporting great), Cate Campbell (Australian sporting great), Geremi (CAF), Alexi Lalas (Concacaf), Gilberto Silva (CONMEBOL) and Ian Wright (UEFA).
READ MORE: Football stars slip into Auckland for World Cup draw >>>>
How to buy tickets for the tournaments
READ MORE: Tickets now on sale for 2023 Women’s World Cup and intercontinental play-off series >>>>
READ MORE: 29 countries now confirmed qualifiers for FIFA Women’s World Cup >>>>
Volunteers needed
Applications are open for volunteers who want to help make next February’s FIFA Women’s World Cup play-off tournament a success in Auckland and Hamilton. The tournament will decide the last three teams to qualify for the Women’s World Cup.
The volunteers will help at the stadia, training sites, hotels, Auckland Airport and transport hubs.
For more information and to apply online, go to:
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