A fan appeals to the USA striker Alex Morgan for a keepsake of the American's visit to Wellington. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
This week's games between the USA and New Zealand's Football Ferns are proving to be the perfect curtain-raiser for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
New Zealand will jointly host the event with Australia in July and August.
Already, half a million tickets have been sold and it is expected next month's qualifying round in Hamilton and Auckland will generate more interest.
Chief operating officer for the FIFA Women's World Cup, Jane Patterson, said the first match between the Football Ferns and the USA in Wellington had been "a spectacular start to the year".
USA women's soccer fixtures spike World Cup interest
The USA beat the Ferns 4-0 in a match that drew around 12,000 fans. The inexperienced Ferns managed to keep the world champions scoreless in the first half, but the Americans turned up the heat after the break.
"The atmosphere was fantastic with lots of young fans and families cheering and enjoying the moment so that's the start we needed - to have people out there and really enjoy football," Patterson said.
The teams will meet again in Auckland on Saturday.
Olivia Chance of New Zealand and Emily Fox of USA during a women’s international football friendly game between the New Zealand Football Ferns and the U.S. Photo: Aaron Gillions / www.photosport.nz
Organisers were thrilled with the ticket sales for the FIFA Women's World Cup so far, she said. There was strong interest in matches featuring either the Football Ferns or the USA, including a repeat of the 2019 cup final between the USA and the Netherlands in Wellington.
Tickets have been priced from $20 for adults and $10 for children.
Ten teams chasing the final three spots will take part in the playoff tournament in Auckland and Hamilton from 17-23 February, Patterson said.
Cameroon, Portugal, Papua New Guinea, Senegal, Chile, Haiti, Thailand, Panama, Paraguay and Chinese Taipei are the teams involved.
Alongside that, the Football Ferns will play three friendly matches against Argentina, who will be based in New Zealand during the cup's group stages.
"So a fantastic test event for us but most importantly, it's a taster for what's to come for fans."
During the World Cup 32 teams play 64 matches over 32 days in nine cities and 10 stadiums "in two beautiful countries", Patterson said.
"So it's an event of a scale we've never really seen before in this country ...as a country that's such a sports-mad nation we're trusting that New Zealanders will get out and support the Football Ferns and all the other teams who will be based in New Zealand."
Organisers have also been seeking 2000 volunteers to help out during the tournament and had had a good response so far, she said.