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Ireland's opening match against co-hosts Australia is becoming one of the hottest tickets of the 2023 Fifa Women's World Cup (file photo). Tom Maher/INPHO

Ireland's World Cup opener against Australia heading for 83,000 sell-out

A new allocation of 20,000 tickets for the game on 20 July sold in less than an hour overnight.

THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND’S 2023 Women’s World Cup opener against co-hosts Australia is heading for an 83,500 sell-out in Sydney.

Ireland’s major tournament debut on 20 July was recently moved to Stadium Australia from the 42,500-capacity Sydney Football Stadium due to the demand for tickets.

The Matildas’ popularity in Australia and the huge Irish diaspora Down Under saw tickets snapped up quickly, and others missing out. Tickets purchased before the venue switch remain valid with fans relocated, while a new batch went on sale overnight.

The42 understands Fifa’s most recent sale was a success with the ticket allocation — 20,000 is the figure reported in Australia — exhausted in less than an hour.

A last-minute sales phase will begin on 11 April, and supporters are encouraged to regularly check fifa.com/tickets. It’s understood the FAI and Football Australia will also be in line for additional allocations.

Should the match sell out as expected, it will become the second-highest attended Women’s World Cup match in history. A crowd of 90,185 watched the USA defeat China in the 1999 World Cup final.

Vera Pauw’s Ireland will play in front of their biggest crowd ever in the opener, before further Group B clashes against Canada in Perth and Nigeria in Brisbane.

Ireland’s warm-up schedule is now complete, with a double-header of international friendlies against world champions USA confirmed for April.

The Girls In Green played out a 0-0 draw with China PR in Spain this week as they concluded a 10-day training camp, while they’re due to face Zambia and France in Tallaght Stadium send-off games on 22 June and 6 July respectively.

Author
Emma Duffy
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