LAST UPDATE | 24 Oct 2022
THE KICK-OFF TIMES and TV coverage for the Republic of Ireland’s matches at next summer’s Women’s World Cup have been confirmed.
Fixture details were made available this morning, while RTÉ announced this afternoon that it has successfully secured the broadcast rights and will show every game.
Vera Pauw’s side will open their first-ever major tournament against co-hosts Australia at Sydney Football Stadium on Thursday, 20 July, with the action due to get underway at 8pm local time or 11am in Ireland.
That’s on opening day, with the other co-hosts, New Zealand, and Norway kicking the tournament off at Auckland’s Eden Park a couple of hours beforehand.
The Girls In Green’s other Group B games are in Perth and Brisbane, meaning coast-to-coast treks and further different time zones — but more favourable kick-off times for fans at home.
They face Canada at Perth Rectangular Stadium on Wednesday, 26 July, at 8pm local time / 1pm Irish time, while they round off their group campaign against Nigeria at Brisbane Stadium on Monday, 1 August, again at 8pm local time, but 11am Irish time.
CONFIRMED | #FIFAWWC KO Times
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) October 24, 2022
July 20 | 🇦🇺 v 🇮🇪 | KO 20:00 (Local) | Sydney
July 26 | 🇨🇦 v 🇮🇪 | KO 20:00 (Local) | Perth
July 31 | 🇮🇪 v 🇳🇬 | KO 20:00 (Local) | Brisbane#COYGIG pic.twitter.com/9SNdVLTouQ
The draw, completed on Saturday, is difficult but doable for Pauw’s Ireland.
Australia, or the Matildas, are ranked 13th in the world; Olympic gold medallists Canada are seventh; and Nigeria are 45th, though the strongest fourth seeds. (Ireland are at an all-time high of 24th.) The top two teams in each group progress to the last 16.
The tournament runs from 20 July to 20 August across Australia and New Zealand, with the final set for Stadium Australia in Sydney.
The full schedule is available here, with ticket applications open for Irish fans here.
Every game in the 2023 World Cup will be live on @rtesport including @FAIreland's historic matches https://t.co/duKuF8gjd1 #rtesoccer
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 24, 2022
For those staying put at home, RTÉ will continue its coverage of Pauw’s side by bringing Irish fans all the action from Down Under free-to-air next summer.
RTÉ and TG4 provided extensive live coverage of the 2019 Women’s World Cup, and the former broadcast Euro 2022.
“Having been there on every step of the journey through qualification, we are delighted to be there for the ultimate destination of a Women’s World Cup,” Declan McBennett, Group Head of Sport, RTÉ said.
“This team have captured the imagination of generations at home and will no doubt receive a huge Irish backing from the Irish Down Under making the World Cup a thrilling experience. Across radio, television and online, RTÉ Sport will be there to reflect the endeavours of a very special group of Irish sporting talent and make sure we can all get behind our national team.”
The recent play-off win over Scotland attracted the highest-ever TV audience for women’s football with an audience of 382,000, while RTÉ Player had over 126,000 streams over the course of the qualification campaign.
Off with his hand!