By Akosua Adjei
The Football Ferns recorded a win against Norway in the opener for the 2023 Women’s World Cup at Eden Park in Auckland.
In front of 42,137 cheering home fans, Hannah Wilkinson broke the deadlock in the 47th minute in a beautifully worked move.
New Zealand are housed in Group A alongside the Philippines, Switzerland, and Norway.
The ninth edition of the Mundial, which started in 1991 in China with 12 countries, will see an expansion to 32 countries. They have hence been grouped in eight (8) groups of four, from Group A to Group H.
A total prize pool of $110,000,000 will be distributed. For winning the tournament, each player gets $270,000, while the association gets $4,290,000, representing $10,500,000.
Runners-up: $7,500,000
Third place: $6,750,000
Fourth place: $6,250,000
5th–8th place (quarter-finals): $17,000,000
9th–16th place (round of 16): $26,000,000
17th–32nd place (group stage): $36,000,000
Each player at the tournament will earn $30,000.
Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia represent the Confederation of African Football. Meanwhile, the Matildas will be without star player Samantha Kerr for their first two (2) games after she picked up a calf injury. USA are the defending champions.
