SYDNEY/AUCKLAND : Australia and New Zealand will open the ninth Women's World Cup co-hosted by the two nations on Thursday, despite a shooting near the Norwegian team hotel in New Zealand's largest city of Auckland that left three dead and six injured. Police said the shooter was among those killed and th
SYDNEY/AUCKLAND : Australia and New Zealand will open the ninth Women's World Cup co-hosted by the two nations on Thursday, despite a shooting near the Norwegian team hotel in New Zealand's largest city of Auckland that left three dead and six injured.
"Everyone woke up pretty quickly when the helicopter hovered outside the hotel window and a large number of emergency vehicles arrived - at first we didn't know what was going on, but eventually there were updates on TV and the local media," Norway captain Maren Mjelde was quoted as saying by newspaper Verdens Gang.
But the sport has achieved greater prominence in recent years, with large increases in female players and spectators globally. Several participating nations, including tournament heavyweights England and Spain, have been in dispute with their administrators over working conditions and pay in recent months.Players like talismanic striker Sam Kerr are household names in sport-mad Australia, with tickets for matches involving the home nation selling out months in advance.
Fatma Samoura, FIFA’s Secretary-General, said tickets sold had already exceeded the total number sold for the last tournament in France, but sales in New Zealand had lagged its much larger neighbour.
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