Women's World Cup attendance tracker 2023 with full breakdown of fans at matches in Australia and New Zealand

Patrick Brischetto

Women's World Cup attendance tracker 2023 with full breakdown of fans at matches in Australia and New Zealand image

The Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand set a new benchmark for all-time attendance records for the tournament.

By June, over 1 million tickets had been sold, with FIFA expecting the total attendance record to be broken as women's football enjoys an explosion of popularity. Live audience figures passed the previous best mark by the Round of 16 and that only grew in over the final rounds.

The 2023 tournament comfortably surpassed the previous record thanks in part to the expanded format with a record high 32 teams playing 64 games.

Not every game proved a huge draw. Organisers in New Zealand responded to low demand for four such matches by offering to give away 20,000 tickets, including contests featuring debutants Zambia.

The attendances at the tournament, and how they compare between the two host nations, will be an interesting point of observation, and The Sporting News tracked the 2023 attendances while also looking back at the attendance records for previous tournaments.

MORE: Complete World Cup schedule | Updated group standings

2023 Women's World Cup attendance tracker

The largest attendances were at Stadium Australia in Sydney, which saw four capacity-crowd fixtures, including Australia's opening win over Republic of Ireland and the final between Spain and England. The crowd of 75,784 was a record home audience for a women's football match in Australia and the third largest in Women's World Cup history. That figure was also replicated in Australia's semifinal defeat to England, as well as the Lionesses' win over Colombia in the previous round.

It's worth noting that the 42,137 that came out to watch New Zealand's opener represented the biggest crowd in the country's football history — men's or women's.

The match with the smallest attendance was the Portugal vs Vietnam Group E match (6,645) in Waikato, New Zealand. 

Date
(in AUS/NZL)
MatchStadiumOfficial
Attendance
% Capacity
Thu, July 20New Zealand vs NorwayEden Park42,13787.3%
Thu, July 20Australia vs Rep. of IrelandStadium Australia75,78491.8%
Fri, July 21Nigeria vs CanadaMelbourne Rectangular Stadium21,41071.2%
Fri, July 21Philippines vs SwitzerlandForsyth Barr Stadium13,71147.7%
Fri, July 21Spain vs Costa RicaWellington Regional Stadium22,96658.9%
Sat, July 22USA vs VietnamEden Park41,10785.1%
Sat, July 22Zambia vs JapanWaikato Stadium16,11164.2%
Sat, July 22England vs HaitiLang Park44,36984.9%
Sat, July 22Denmark vs ChinaPerth Rectangular Stadium16,98976.4%
Sun, July 23Sweden vs South AfricaWellington Regional Stadium18,31747.0%
Sun, July 23Netherlands vs PortugalForsyth Barr Stadium11,99141.7%
Sun, July 23France vs JamaicaSydney Football Stadium39,04591.8%
Mon, July 24Italy vs ArgentinaEden Park30,88964.0%
Mon, July 24Germany vs MoroccoMelbourne Rectangular Stadium27,25690.7%
Mon, July 24Brazil vs PanamaHindmarsh Stadium13,14271.3%
Tue, July 25Colombia vs South KoreaSydney Football Stadium24,32357.2%
Tue, July 25New Zealand vs PhilippinesWellington Regional Stadium32,35782.9%
Tue, July 25Switzerland vs NorwayWaikato Stadium10,76941.7%
Wed, July 26Japan vs Costa RicaDunedin Stadium6,99222.7%
Wed, July 26Spain vs ZambiaEden Park20,98342.0%
Wed, July 26Canada vs Rep of. IrelandPerth Rectangular Stadium17.06583.2%
Thu, Jul 27USA vs NetherlandsWellington Regional Stadium27,31279.1%
Thu, Jul 27Portugal vs VietnamStadium Waikato6,64525.7%
Thu, Jul 27Australia vs NigeriaLang Park49,15693.6%
Fri, Jul 28Argentina vs South AfricaDunedin Stadium8,83430.7%
Fri, Jul 28England vs DenmarkSydney Football Stadium40,43995.1%
Fri, Jul 28China vs HaitiHindmarsh Stadium12,67568.7%
Sat, Jul 29Sweden vs ItalyWellington Regional Stadium29,14374.7%
Sat, Jul 29France vs BrazilLang Park49,37894.5%
Sat, Jul 29Panama vs JamaicaPerth Rectangular15,98771.9%
Sun, Jul 30South Korea vs MoroccoHindmarsh Stadium12,88669.8%
Sun, Jul 30Norway vs PhilippinesEden Park34,69771.8%
Sun, Jul 30Switzerland vs New ZealandDunedin Stadium25,94790.2%
Sun, Jul 30Germany vs ColombiaSydney Football Stadium40,49995.8%
Mon, Jul 31Costa Rica vs ZambiaWaikato Stadium8,11732.3%
Mon, Jul 31Japan vs SpainWellington Regional Stadium20,95753.7%
Mon, Jul 31Rep. of Ireland vs NigeriaBrisbane Stadium24,88447%
Mon, Jul 31Australia vs CanadaMelbourne Rectangular Stadium27,70692.2%
Tues, Aug 1Haiti vs DenmarkPerth Rectangular Stadium17,89787.3%
Tues, Aug 1China vs EnglandHindmarsh Stadium13,49781.8%
Tues, Aug 1Vietnam vs NetherlandsDunedin Stadium8,21526.7%
Tues, Aug 1Portugal vs USAEden Park42,95885.9%
Weds, Aug 2South Africa vs ItalyWellington Regional Stadium14,96738.9%
Weds, Aug 2Argentina vs SwedenWaikato Stadium17,90771.3%
Weds, Aug 2Jamaica vs BrazilMelbourne Rectangular Stadium27,63891.2%
Weds, Aug 2Panama vs FranceSydney Football Stadium40,49895.5%
Thurs, Aug 3South Korea vs GermanyBrisbane Stadium38,49573.3%
Thurs, Aug 3Morocco vs ColombiaPerth Rectangular Stadium17,34278%
Sat, Aug 5Switzerland vs SpainEden Park43,21789.5%
Sat, Aug 5Japan vs NorwayWellington Regional Stadium33,04284%
Sun, Aug 6Netherlands vs South AfricaSydney Football Stadium40,23394.7%
Sun, Aug 6Sweden vs USAMelbourne Rectangular Stadium27,70692.2%
Mon, Aug 7England vs NigeriaBrisbane Stadium49,46194.6%
Mon, Aug 7Australia vs DenmarkStadium Australia75,78491.3%
Tues, Aug 8Colombia vs JamaicaMelbourne Rectangular Stadium27,70692.2%
Tues, Aug 8France vs MoroccoHindmarsh Stadium13,55782.2%
Fri, Aug 11Spain vs NetherlandsWellington Regional Stadium32,02182.1%
Fri, Aug 11Japan vs SwedenEden Park43,21789.6%
Sat, Aug 12Australia vs FranceBrisbane Stadium49,46194.6%
Sat, Aug 12England vs ColombiaStadium Australia75,78491.3%
Tues, Aug 15Spain vs SwedenEden Park43,21786.4%
Weds, Aug 16Australia vs EnglandStadium Australia75,78491.3%
Sat, Aug 19Sweden vs AustraliaBrisbane Stadium49,46194.2%
Sun, Aug 20Spain vs EnglandStadium Australia75,78491.3%
———————————————TOTAL (64 matches)1,977,824Avg: 30,904

MORE: Where is the next FIFA Women's World Cup?

Women's World Cup attendance record for single tournament

Following the first two matches in the Round of 16, the 2023 Women's World Cup set a new record for the biggest attendance in the tournament's history. A total of 1,977,824 fans went to the 64 games in total.

The previous best attended Women's World Cup in history came in the 2015 edition in Canada, with a total attendance of 1,353,506.

At the time it was the first World Cup to have 24 teams and 52 matches, which was a factor in securing the record.

The next best-attended tournament was the 1999 World Cup hosted by the USA, which had 1,214,209 fans attend 32 matches.

MORE: Odds to win 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

YearHost countryNo. of
matches
Total
Attendance
1991China26510,000
1995Sweden26112,213
1999USA321,214,209
2003USA32679,664
2007China321,190,971
2011Germany32845,751
2015Canada521,353,506
2019France521,131,312
2023Australia &
New Zealand
641,977,824

Top 10 Women's World Cup attendance records all-time

The highest attendance at a single Women's World Cup match came in 1999, when 90,185 fans turned out to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to firstly watch the third placed playoff between Brazil and Norway, followed by the final, which saw the USA defeat China on penalties.

The next biggest crowd came in the same tournament's opening fixture, where 78,972 were in attendance at Giants Stadium for a double header of USA vs Denmark and Brazil vs Mexico.

Australia's opening match against the Republic of Ireland in 2023 went third on this list, making it the best-attended Women's World Cup fixture this century. The Matildas' match with Denmark in the Round of 16 returned the same figure, as did England vs. Colombia, Australia vs. England and the final.

MatchYearCountryStadiumAttendance
Brazil vs Norway &
USA vs China
1999USARose Bowl90,185
USA vs Denmark &
Brazil vs Mexico
1999USAGiants Stadium78,972
Australia vs Denmark2023AustraliaStadium Australia75,784
Australia vs Republic of Ireland2023AustraliaStadium Australia75,784
England vs Colombia2023AustraliaStadium Australia75,784
Australia vs England2023AustraliaStadium Australia75,784
Spain vs England2023AustraliaStadium Australia75,784
Germany vs Canada2011GermanyOlympiastadion73,680
USA vs Brazil1999USAStanford Stadium73,123

2023 Women's World Cup stadium capacities

There are the total of 10 stadiums being used at the 2023 Women's World Cup, with six in Australia and four in New Zealand.

The largest stadium at the tournament is Stadium Australia in Sydney, which can hold 82,500 fans, while New Zealand's largest stadium is Auckland's Eden Park, which has a capacity of over 48,000.

StadiumCapacityCityCountry
Stadium Australia82,500SydneyAustralia
Lang Park52,263BrisbaneAustralia
Eden Park48,276AucklandNew Zealand
Sydney Football Stadium42,512SydneyAustralia
Wellington Regional Stadium39,000WellingtonNew Zealand
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium30,052MelbourneAustralia
Forsyth Barr Stadium28,744DunedinNew Zealand
Waikato Stadium25,111HamiltonNew Zealand
Perth Rectangular Stadium22,225Perth Australia
Hindmarsh Stadium18,435AdelaideAustralia

Patrick Brischetto

Patrick is a journalist currently based in Sydney who covered the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Women's World Cup for The Sporting News. He also holds a position at the Western Sydney Wanderers FC, and is slowly attempting to convince the world that the A-League is the greatest sporting competition.