The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ continues to set new milestones, on and off the pitch, with the one millionth fan passing through the turnstiles on Tuesday at the match between Portugal and the United States of America at Eden Park in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau. Rebecca Sheely from Colorado was welcomed by the tournament mascot Tazuni™ as the one millionth fan to come through the gates at the ten venues across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Rebecca and her daughter Janelle have been following the United States team for the past three FIFA Women’s World Cups and were delighted to be at the centre of the millionth fan milestone. “I think we need another suitcase,” laughed Rebecca as she was showered with gifts by Tazuni™. The match at Eden Park drew another enormous crowd, helping to smash the one million mark for total attendance, after Monday’s big crowds had pushed the total to 982,795 after 38 matches.

The interest in the FIFA Women’s World Cup around the globe and in the two host countries is already exceeding most predictions, with nearly 1.7 million tickets now sold, easily surpassing the ambitious target of 1.5 million set before the tournament. Rebecca and Janelle Sheely bought their match tickets as soon as the first batch was released on FIFA.com/tickets. “I think we got them within two minutes. And we have tickets all the way to the final, so we will be here a while,” explained Janelle. Recently, FIFA announced that the 1.5m ticket target had already been surpassed when Maria Strong and her family purchased tickets to watch Italy play Argentina, also at Eden Park, and in just over a week 200,000 more tickets have been sold.

With the final still 19 days away, and 22 matches to be played after Tuesday’s games, FIFA remains firmly on target to host the biggest standalone women’s sport event ever – uniting the world through football. The mother and daughter from Colorado said they had been travelling the length of Aotearoa New Zealand to watch the US matches and catch the local sights and were impressed how the host country had embraced the tournament. “It’s been great from the moment we came off the plane and you immediately see that massive sign ‘Welcome to the FIFA Women’s World Cup’,” said Rebecca. “People are so much more aware and interested than what we saw at previous World Cups, everybody is into it.

“We were just talking to a random shopkeeper and even he was asking us about the game. We are just not used to that. It’s just fantastic.” Tickets for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 are available via FIFA.com/tickets. Fans are urged to check this site regularly and visit the FIFA resale platform for further opportunities to secure seats at high demand matches. Fans eager to take their Women’s World Cup experience ‘above and beyond’ can also purchase ticket-inclusive hospitality packages via FIFA.com/hospitality.