A World Cup is above all a lot of football, passion and emotion, but it is also full of data, curiosities and endless notes of color that make up the idiosyncrasy of each edition. The appointment in Australia and New Zealand, the first time that the women’s tournament has been hosted by two venues, could not be less.
The team that wins the World Cup will receive 3.8 million euros and each champion 240,000 euros. The runner-up Federation will pocket 2.7 million and its footballers 173,000. For reaching the semifinals, the players will receive between 147,000 and 160,000. If they fall in the quarterfinals, the prize will be 80,000, 53,000 in the round of 16 and 27,000 for participating in the group stage. The total distributed by FIFA is 98 million, 300% more than in the previous edition, but still far from the 392 million it gave in the last men’s World Cup in Qatar.
The ball with which the 32 teams will play has been baptized Oceaunz and includes designs by the Australian artist Chern’ee and the Maori artist Fiona Collis. The ball is inspired by the unique natural landscapes of Australia and New Zealand, as well as being “a celebration of the cultures of both countries.”
The theme of the tournament is titled Do it again and is interpreted by the New Zealand BENEE and the Australian Mallrat. The song talks about female empowerment and “the unity that characterizes the World Cup.” The two artists will sing a duet at the opening of the tournament at Auckland’s Eden Park stadium.
Tazuni, a penguin of the Eudyptula minor species, native to New Zealand and Australia, is the World Cup mascot. The bird, with a nice blue crest, claims to be 15 years old and plays soccer as a midfielder.
Of the 32 participating teams, 12 will be led by women, the highest number in a women’s World Cup. In the 2019 edition there were 9 of 24 selections. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany), Hege Riise (Norway), Sarina Wirgman (England), Pia Sundhage (Brazil), Shui Qingxia (China), Desiree Ellis (South Africa), Vera Pauw (Ireland), Inka Grings (Switzerland), Jitka Klimkova (New Zealand), Bev Priestman (Canada), Amelia Valverde (Costa Rica) and Milena Bertolini (Italy) are the tournament coaches.
Of the nine editions of the Women’s World Cup, since the first in 1991, only Brazil, the United States, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Japan and Nigeria have participated in all of them. In addition, German, American and Norwegian add seven titles.
With the expansion of the competition to a total of 32 teams, eight countries will contest the World Cup for the first time: Zambia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Haiti, Portugal, Panama, Ireland and Morocco.
Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe, who will retire after the tournament, are the only players to hold two world titles out of the 736 players participating in Australia and New Zealand. The Americans aspire to their third wound, a record in women’s soccer.
The Brazilian Marta (37) and the Canadian Christine Sinclair (40) will play their sixth World Cup (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023). The two forwards will equal the Japanese Homare Sawa, already retired, and will be one edition away from the record of the Brazilian Formiga, who played the last tournament (2019) at the age of 41.
The Brazilian Marta is the top scorer in the World Cups, with 17 goals in five editions, and in her sixth participation she could extend the record. The next player with the most goals in oceanic lands is the Canadian Sinclair, with ten, while the American Morgan has nine.
South Korean Casey Yu-Jin Phair, just turned 16, is the youngest footballer to participate in the World Cup. At the other extreme is the Nigerian Onome Ebi, the oldest at 40 years old, just a few days older than the Canadian Sinclair and the Argentine Vanina Correa.
The Zambian Avell Chitundu, Spain’s rival in the group stage, is the shortest player in the World Cup with only 1.40 meters. 50 centimeters separate the African from the Filipino goalkeeper Kaiya Jota, the tallest at 1.90 meters.
The Catalan club is the one that contributes the most players with a total of 18. Eight teams will have at least one Blaugrana footballer in their ranks, Spain being, with nine, the national team with the most Barcelona fans. The next most represented teams are Real Madrid and Chelsea with 15.
A total of 60 footballers who participate in the Spanish competition will play in the World Cup. Of the 16 teams that played in the last League, only Villarreal will not have representation. After Barça and Real Madrid, the clubs that contribute the most players are Atlético and Madrd CFF with six each. The Spanish League is the third with the most players after the American, with more than 70, and the English, which exceeds 90.
