The 2023 Women's World Cup Begins

 

The Women's World Cup has began. The host countries are both Australia and New Zealand. This is the ninth competition to be held since 1991. The competition will go from July 20th to August 20th. The final match is going to held in Sydney Olympic Stadium. Fans can watch the Women's World Cup on FOX, FS1, and the FOX Sports App. It will also be available on their website as well. The opening matches were between Australia and Ireland. This was flowed by New Zealand and Norway. Nigeria will be facing Canada. The Philippines will go against Switzerland followed by Spain and Costa Rica. Vietnam will compete against the United States. Megan Rapinoe announced she will retire after this Women's World Cup. US Women's Soccer has won many victories and her contribution cannot be underestimated. The athletic talent is expanding in women's soccer. As more nations send there athletes having one nation become dominant is not ensured. The unusual aspect of the Women's World Cup is that two nations are acting as hosts. FIFA has run into controversy considering when Qatar did hosting duties. Some female athletes might not approve of   the Gulf monarchies having a high level of financial influence on soccer. The objection comes from the fact women's rights  in those nations are limited. The hope is that the 2023 Women's World Cup does not come with massive controversy. Some countries are going to absent. Afghanistan was developing a women's soccer team, but Taliban rule has stopped that. Russia has been banned from the Women's World Cup. This is unfair, due to the fact athletes did not develop policies for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. These two issues cannot be ignored no matter how much sports reporting tries to omit them. Despite these concerns the hope is the competition will generate high TV ratings and ticket sales.