Team New Zealand and her former world champion Norwegian colleague opened the Women’s World Championships in Auckland today with a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the shooting accident.
At a short ceremony held at the Eden Park stadium, the natives of the host countries of Australia and New Zealand celebrated, with Benny and Malratt performing the tournament’s official song “Do It Again”.
The tournament trophy was presented ahead of the two teams kicking off the biggest Women’s World Cup tournament to date, with the number of participating teams increased from 24 teams in the 2019 edition in France to 32 teams.
scenes on #FIFAWWC Opening Ceremony 2023! ✨👏#Beyond greatnesspic.twitter.com/RJsMQDJ4l7
– FIFA Women’s World Cup (@FIFAWWC) July 20, 2023
The Australian team will face their Irish counterpart in the second match of the first day.
The American team, defending champions in the last two editions and winning the title 4 times, is the most visible contender for the title, while the German team, which won the title twice, and the English team, which won the last European Championship, is the most visible of the other candidates.
The World Cup, which runs until August 20, began after a shooting broke out that day that left three people dead, including the suspected shooter, and injured five others.
Following the incident, the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) stated that the opening match would take place on time and decided to observe a minute of silence before the start of the match at Eden Park.
Source: “Wakalat”