Attendances for women’s football matches in New Zealand have been building ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with 10 fixtures attracting crowds of more than 3,000 in the lead-up to the tournament.
In January 2023, a record 12,721 saw the Football Ferns play the world champion United States at Auckland’s Eden Park.
This followed a crowd of 12,508 who watched the same teams play at Wellington’s Sky Stadium three days earlier.
On July 10, 6,215 attended the Ferns’ friendly international against Vietnam at Napier’s McLean Park.
Main photo: Ashley Sanchez takes on the New Zealand defence in the record-breaking game at Eden Park. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Phototek.
Over the 2022-23 summer, 3,788 saw the Ferns play Portugal in Hamilton, and their games against Argentina drew 3,622 (Hamilton) and 3,914 (Auckland).
Meanwhile, 5,213 fans went to Sky Stadium to watch the Wellington Phoenix’s women’s A-League debut on home soil, a record for a standalone women’s club game in New Zealand.
Here’s the list (in order of attendance) of the best-attended women’s games in the lead-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup:
12,721
International friendly
Game played on Saturday January 21, 2023
Eden Park, Auckland
New Zealand 0
United States 5 (Ashley Hatch 22′, Rose Lavelle 38′, 74′, Mallory Swanson 53′, Taylor Kornieck 80′)
READ MORE: Ruthless world champions beat Ferns 5-0 before record crowd at Eden Park >>>>
12,508
International friendly
Game played on Wednesday January 18, 2023
Sky Stadium, Wellington
New Zealand 0
United States 4 (Mallory Swanson 52′, 63′, Alex Morgan 60′, Lynn Williams 74′)
READ MORE: United States show their class with 4-0 win against Ferns before record crowd >>>>
6,215
International friendly
Game played on Monday July 10, 2023
McLean Park, Napier
New Zealand 2 (CJ Bott 17′, Jacqui Hand 44′)
Vietnam 0
READ MORE: Ferns restore World Cup optimism with dominant win against Vietnam >>>>
5,213
Liberty Women’s A-League
Game played on Sunday November 20, 2022
Sky Stadium, Wellington
Wellington Phoenix 1 (Ava Pritchard 82′)
Melbourne City 4 (Bryleeh Henry 48′, Maria Rojas 50′, Rhianna Pollicina 65′, 69′)
READ MORE: Record-breaking crowd gets behind Phoenix in women’s A-League opener >>>>
5,037
International friendly
Game played on Saturday November 12, 2022
Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
New Zealand 0
Korea Republic 1 (Min-a 31′)
READ MORE: Ferns pull up short as Korea Republic win 1-0 in first of two-match series >>>>
3,914
International friendly
Game played on Thursday February 22, 2023
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland
New Zealand 0
Argentina 1 (Mariana Larroquette 77′)
READ MORE: Ferns’ goalscoring woes continue as Argentina win 1-0 in tight contest >>>>
3,788
International friendly
Game played on Friday February 17, 2023
FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
New Zealand 0
Portugal 5 (Jessica Silva 17′, Dolores Silva 42′ pen, Ana Capeta 63′, 69′, Tatiana Pinto 79′)
READ MORE: Portugal put Football Ferns on the rack with 5-0 drubbing in Hamilton >>>>
3,622
International friendly
Game played on Monday February 20, 2023
FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
New Zealand 0
Argentina 2 (Mariana Larroquette 17′, Aidana Cometti 90′)
READ MORE: Winless streak continues for Ferns as Argentina win 2-0 in Hamilton >>>>
3,523
International friendly
Game played on Tuesday November 15, 2022
Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
New Zealand 1 (Olivia Chance 13′)
Korea Republic 1 (Ye-eun 57′)
READ MORE: Chance and Esson take the plaudits as the Ferns draw 1-1 with Korea Republic >>>>
3,457
International friendly
Game played on Friday February 17, 2023
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland
Argentina 4 (Eliana Stábile 40′, Mariana Larroquette 49′ pen, Yamila Rodriguez 71′, Florencia Bonsegundo 90+3′)
Chile 0
READ MORE: Ferns’ next opponents are impressive in 4-0 win against Chile >>>>
Past records — Football Ferns
Before the United States helped smash the record for a full New Zealand international fixture, the previous attendance record was set in 2018 when Japan played the Ferns in Wellington.
7,236
International friendly
Game played on Sunday June 10, 2018
Sky Stadium, Wellington
New Zealand 1 (Meikayla Moore 18′)
Japan 3 (Mina Tanaka 17′, 34′, 43′)
Past records — all women’s football
The biggest crowd to ever watch a game of women’s football in New Zealand was at North Harbour Stadium in 2008 when more than 16,000 turned up to watch the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup between the United States and North Korea.
England and Germany played the curtain-raiser, adding to the appeal of the event.
16,162
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
Games played on Sunday November 16, 2008 (double header)
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland
Play-off for third
England 0
Germany 3 (Wesely 11′, Knaak 74′, Mester 88′)
Final
United States 1 (own goal 2′)
North Korea 2 (Kim Un-hyang 77′, 113′)
*After extra time
13,123
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
Game played on Wednesday October 29, 2008
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland
New Zealand 0
Canada 1 (Lamarre 53′)
11,500
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
Games played on Thursday October 30, 2008 (double header)
Sky Stadium, Wellington
Brazil 0
England 3 (Carter 71′, 89′, Bruton 75′)
South Korea 1 (Ji So-Yun 85′)
Nigeria 2 (Adekwagh 1′, Alghewi 60′)
11,170
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
Games played on Saturday November 1, 2008 (double header)
North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland
New Zealand 1 (Annemarie Longo 13′)
Denmark 2 (Andreasen 29′, Olsen 56′)
Colombia 1 (Vidal 10′)
Canada 1 (Ezurike 9′)
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