Auckland fan festival closed Thursday following deadly shooting in host city
From CNN's Tara Subramaniam in Auckland, New Zealand
The FIFA Fan Festival in World Cup host city Auckland will not open on Thursday after a deadly shooting took place in the city, the mayor’s office said in a statement.
The rare multiple shooting, which left three people including the gunman dead and several others injured, has put security officials on edge as tens of thousands gather in the city to watch the co-hosts open the tournament against Norway in Auckland's Eden Park Stadium.
The fan festival, where supporters can watch the World Cup matches on a big screen and soak up the atmosphere, was canceled Thursday, "out of deep respect for those who lost their lives and those affected in downtown Auckland,” the statement said.
It will reopen Friday, the statement added.
The tournament will start as planned on Thursday, New Zealand's sports minister said earlier. New Zealand police said the shooting was "an isolated incident," and "not a national security risk."
7 min ago
CNN analysis shows women players earn 25 cents to the dollar of men at the World Cup
From CNN's Issy Ronald, Antonio Jarne and Krystina Shveda
Soccer players at the 2023 Women’s World Cup will on average earn just 25 cents for every dollar earned by men at their World Cup last year, a new CNN analysis found.
Still, that is an improvement: Last time, in 2019, it was less than 8 cents per dollar, according to data provided by world governing body FIFA and global players’ union FIFPRO.
The gender pay gap will be very much alive and kicking at the tournament which begins Thursday in Australia and New Zealand.
FIFA announced in June that, for the first time, about $49 million of the record $110 million Women’s World Cup prize money would go directly to individual players — at least $30,000 each for participating and $270,000 to each player on the winning squad.
The rest of the pot is going to be split between participating federations who will decide what share of this money to allocate to teams and players — if any at all. In addition to prize money, FIFA committed to paying $42 million to the federations and players’ clubs for Women’s World Cup preparations.
When asked for comment, soccer’s world governing body referred CNN to what FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in March when the organization announced details of the prize money on offer at this year’s tournament.
At the time, he said FIFA was embarking on a “historic journey for women’s football and for equality,” adding that the aim was equality in payments for the men’s and women’s World Cups in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
The World Cup has arrived. Here's what to expect from the opening match
From CNN's Thomas Schlachter
A general view shows the Eden Park stadium in Auckland on July 19, 2023, ahead of the Women's World Cup football tournament. Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup gets underway on Thursday with co-hosts New Zealand kicking off the tournament and the summer of footballing festivities.
In just a few hours, the Football Ferns will take on Norway at Eden Park in front of an expected record home crowd.
But all eyes in Auckland will be on talented striker Ada Hegerberg as she returns to the World Cup for Norway.
Here's what to watch in the opening match:
New Zealand aims for upset:The World Cup loves an underdog story and buoyed by home support, the co-hosts will be hoping to make a memorable start. "It’s hard to put into words, I don’t know if I can even predict what I’m going to feel in that moment," New Zealand captain Ali Riley told CNN's Amanda Davies ahead of the opener. While New Zealand isn’t expected to set the world alight during the tournament, this World Cup could have a huge impact on football in the country for generations to come.
Norway starts favorite: Norway, the 1995 World Cup winner, comes into the opening game as the heavy favorite and with star quality all over the pitch — led by talismanic striker Ada Hegerberg. The 2018 Ballon d'Or Féminin winner, awarded to the best women’s player in the world, will be crucial for Norway’s chances of going far in the tournament.
Hegerberg returns: The 2023 World Cup represents a first for Hegerberg since 2015. Due to disputes with the Norwegian Football Federation, she stopped playing international football in 2017 and said her decision came down to frustrations with the way women’s football was treated within the country. Now back in the national team and firing, New Zealand will have its work cut out to thwart the Lyon striker.
How to watch: New Zealand vs Norway kicks off at 3 a.m. ET.In the US, games will be aired on FOX Sports, while Telemundo is providing Spanish-language coverage. Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom. A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.
45 min ago
Women's World Cup will win over skeptics, FIFA president says
From CNN's Tara Subramaniam in Auckland, New Zealand
FIFA President Gianni Infantino looks on prior to the awards ceremony for the Concacaf Gold Cup final match between Mexico and Panama at SoFi Stadium on July 16, 2023 in Inglewood, California. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
On the eve of the World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino praised the growth of the women’s game in the past 10 years and said he believes the tournament will win over skeptics.
FIFA expects 2 billion people to tune in for the tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, which kicks off in Auckland Thursday.
“Many people who still believe that women’s football is not, you know, great, a great game or it’s not so entertaining or it’s a kind of a bad copy of men’s football, or some stuff like that," Infantino told a news conference Wednesday. “Well, when they watch a game for the first time, they will actually see that it’s a fantastic game. It’s very entertaining. It’s great athletes playing, the level has grown incredibly in the last 10 years, and the best are coming here.”
Infantino said the main message he wanted to get out was for the host countries to “seize the moment.” The focus of the tournament should be “on what this event means for women, what this event means for this part of the world,” he said.
“The world will be watching,” he said.
51 min ago
This year's prize money is nearly 3 times what it was at the last Women's World Cup
From CNN's George Ramsay
The FIFA Women's World Cup trophy is seen during its unveiling event at Summit at One Vanderbilt in New York City on April 14, 2023. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
FIFA has announced that prize money for this year's Women's World Cup tournament will increase to $110 million. A further $31 million has been awarded to teams for preparations and $11 million to clubs for their players.
The $110 million prize money is a nearly three-fold increase on the 2019 figure and almost seven times more than in 2015, but still considerably lower than the $440 million total prize money awarded at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said earlier this year that he hopes the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups will have equal prize money.
1 hr 37 min ago
World Cup ticket sales have already broken records, but sales have slowed in New Zealand
From CNN's Sammy Mncwabe and Tara Subramaniam
The 2023 Women's World Cup is on track to be the most attended standalone women’s sporting event in history, according to FIFA — with record ticket sales.
Both host countries, New Zealand and Australia, are also set to break their own national attendance records for women’s football games on Thursday when they compete against Norway and Ireland respectively.
Football Australia said in a statement Thursday that overall ticket sales across both host countries have "exceeded expectations," surpassing the current record held by the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in France, where 1.1 million tickets were sold.
FIFA confirmed that almost 1.4 million tickets had been sold for this year’s matches.
“The future is women — and thanks to the fans for supporting what will be the greatest FIFA Women’s World Cup ever,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino told reporters last month.
Ticket sales have slowed in New Zealand, however, and on the eve of the big kick-off, Infantino pleaded with fans on Wednesday “to do the right thing.”
“New Zealand, we want you. We need you,” Infantino pleaded at news conference in Auckland. “It’s never too late to do the right thing. Come to watch the matches. We need full stadiums to warm us all up.”
Speaking alongside Infantino, FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura echoed his comments. "We still have tickets available for some matches, so my only plea is don’t wait until the last moment," Samoura said.
“You still can apply and get your ticket for the majority of the matches, and we hope that this will be also the most attended women’s sporting event — it is already, but that we will be reaching record figures,” she added.
Some more context: Xero, the official partner of the Women’s World Cup, has offered 20,000 complimentary tickets to games in New Zealand's four host cities. It is common for sporting events to allocate a certain number of complimentary tickets to fans.
54 min ago
Opening match will go ahead after shooting, New Zealand official says
From CNN's Hira Humayun
New Zealand's Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson speaks during Labour Party Congress at Te Papa on May 27, 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images/FILE
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will begin as planned on Thursday, New Zealand's sports minister said.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson said he spoke to the president and Secretary General of FIFA after three people including the gunman were shot dead in downtown Auckland — where the World Cup is set to kick off — early Thursday.
“Tonight’s game will be played,” he said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told a news conference "there is no ongoing risk here." "The Minister of Sport will be continuing his ongoing liaison with FIFA and will be heading up to make sure a lot of the arrangements for tonight are well taken care of," Hipkins said.
54 min ago
The Women's World Cup kicks off today. Here's how to watch
From CNN's George Ramsay
The ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup gets underway in Auckland on Thursday as co-host New Zealand takes on Norway.
Later today, co-host Australia will face the Republic of Ireland.
Between today and August 20, 32 teams will compete across 64 matches at 10 different venues, making this year’s tournament the biggest to date.
How to watch the matches: In the US, games will be aired on FOX Sports, while Telemundo is providing Spanish-language coverage.
Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom.
A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.
59 min ago
US Soccer responds after New Zealand shooting
From CNN's Wayne Sterling and Jacob Lev
An armed New Zealand police officer stands at a road block in the central business district following a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, on July 20, 2023. Abbie Parr/AP
"Regarding the incident in downtown Auckland, all of our USWNT players and staff are accounted for and safe," US Soccer tweeted. "Our security team is in communication with local authorities and we are proceeding with our daily schedule."
US Soccer also expressed its "deepest condolences" to the families of those killed.
"We are saddened by the inexcusable loss of life to gun violence, and our thoughts are with the people of Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa New Zealand," the organization said in a separate statement.
At least two people died in a “serious incident” in New Zealand's largest city, according to police on Thursday.
Police said the “male offender” also died and the incident has been contained. Police also said multiple injuries have been reported.
An investigation is now taking place into what occurred, and cordons were put in place as police asked the public to stay away from the area, New Zealand police tweeted.
New Zealand is set to face Norway at Eden Park in Auckland later on Thursday.
The US opens its World Cup campaign against Vietnam at Eden Park on Friday night.
It's opening day of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Over the next four weeks, 32 teams will compete across 64 matches at 10 venues across Australia and New Zealand.
Today, New Zealand takes on Norway and Australia will face the Republic of Ireland.
The US Women’s National Team arrives at the tournament as the two-time defending champion and arguably the favorite to win an unprecedented third consecutive title.
A rare multiple shooting in Auckland Thursday has put security officials on edge as thousands gather in the city for the tournament. New Zealand police said it was "an isolated incident," and "not a national security risk."
The FIFA Fan Festival in World Cup host city Auckland will not open on Thursday after a deadly shooting took place in the city, the mayor’s office said in a statement.
The rare multiple shooting, which left three people including the gunman dead and several others injured, has put security officials on edge as tens of thousands gather in the city to watch the co-hosts open the tournament against Norway in Auckland's Eden Park Stadium.
The fan festival, where supporters can watch the World Cup matches on a big screen and soak up the atmosphere, was canceled Thursday, "out of deep respect for those who lost their lives and those affected in downtown Auckland,” the statement said.
It will reopen Friday, the statement added.
The tournament will start as planned on Thursday, New Zealand's sports minister said earlier. New Zealand police said the shooting was "an isolated incident," and "not a national security risk."
Soccer players at the 2023 Women’s World Cup will on average earn just 25 cents for every dollar earned by men at their World Cup last year, a new CNN analysis found.
Still, that is an improvement: Last time, in 2019, it was less than 8 cents per dollar, according to data provided by world governing body FIFA and global players’ union FIFPRO.
The gender pay gap will be very much alive and kicking at the tournament which begins Thursday in Australia and New Zealand.
FIFA announced in June that, for the first time, about $49 million of the record $110 million Women’s World Cup prize money would go directly to individual players — at least $30,000 each for participating and $270,000 to each player on the winning squad.
The rest of the pot is going to be split between participating federations who will decide what share of this money to allocate to teams and players — if any at all. In addition to prize money, FIFA committed to paying $42 million to the federations and players’ clubs for Women’s World Cup preparations.
When asked for comment, soccer’s world governing body referred CNN to what FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in March when the organization announced details of the prize money on offer at this year’s tournament.
At the time, he said FIFA was embarking on a “historic journey for women’s football and for equality,” adding that the aim was equality in payments for the men’s and women’s World Cups in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
A general view shows the Eden Park stadium in Auckland on July 19, 2023, ahead of the Women's World Cup football tournament. Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup gets underway on Thursday with co-hosts New Zealand kicking off the tournament and the summer of footballing festivities.
In just a few hours, the Football Ferns will take on Norway at Eden Park in front of an expected record home crowd.
But all eyes in Auckland will be on talented striker Ada Hegerberg as she returns to the World Cup for Norway.
Here's what to watch in the opening match:
New Zealand aims for upset:The World Cup loves an underdog story and buoyed by home support, the co-hosts will be hoping to make a memorable start. "It’s hard to put into words, I don’t know if I can even predict what I’m going to feel in that moment," New Zealand captain Ali Riley told CNN's Amanda Davies ahead of the opener. While New Zealand isn’t expected to set the world alight during the tournament, this World Cup could have a huge impact on football in the country for generations to come.
Norway starts favorite: Norway, the 1995 World Cup winner, comes into the opening game as the heavy favorite and with star quality all over the pitch — led by talismanic striker Ada Hegerberg. The 2018 Ballon d'Or Féminin winner, awarded to the best women’s player in the world, will be crucial for Norway’s chances of going far in the tournament.
Hegerberg returns: The 2023 World Cup represents a first for Hegerberg since 2015. Due to disputes with the Norwegian Football Federation, she stopped playing international football in 2017 and said her decision came down to frustrations with the way women’s football was treated within the country. Now back in the national team and firing, New Zealand will have its work cut out to thwart the Lyon striker.
How to watch: New Zealand vs Norway kicks off at 3 a.m. ET.In the US, games will be aired on FOX Sports, while Telemundo is providing Spanish-language coverage. Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom. A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino looks on prior to the awards ceremony for the Concacaf Gold Cup final match between Mexico and Panama at SoFi Stadium on July 16, 2023 in Inglewood, California. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
On the eve of the World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino praised the growth of the women’s game in the past 10 years and said he believes the tournament will win over skeptics.
FIFA expects 2 billion people to tune in for the tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, which kicks off in Auckland Thursday.
“Many people who still believe that women’s football is not, you know, great, a great game or it’s not so entertaining or it’s a kind of a bad copy of men’s football, or some stuff like that," Infantino told a news conference Wednesday. “Well, when they watch a game for the first time, they will actually see that it’s a fantastic game. It’s very entertaining. It’s great athletes playing, the level has grown incredibly in the last 10 years, and the best are coming here.”
Infantino said the main message he wanted to get out was for the host countries to “seize the moment.” The focus of the tournament should be “on what this event means for women, what this event means for this part of the world,” he said.
“The world will be watching,” he said.
The FIFA Women's World Cup trophy is seen during its unveiling event at Summit at One Vanderbilt in New York City on April 14, 2023. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images/FILE
FIFA has announced that prize money for this year's Women's World Cup tournament will increase to $110 million. A further $31 million has been awarded to teams for preparations and $11 million to clubs for their players.
The $110 million prize money is a nearly three-fold increase on the 2019 figure and almost seven times more than in 2015, but still considerably lower than the $440 million total prize money awarded at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said earlier this year that he hopes the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups will have equal prize money.
The 2023 Women's World Cup is on track to be the most attended standalone women’s sporting event in history, according to FIFA — with record ticket sales.
Both host countries, New Zealand and Australia, are also set to break their own national attendance records for women’s football games on Thursday when they compete against Norway and Ireland respectively.
Football Australia said in a statement Thursday that overall ticket sales across both host countries have "exceeded expectations," surpassing the current record held by the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in France, where 1.1 million tickets were sold.
FIFA confirmed that almost 1.4 million tickets had been sold for this year’s matches.
“The future is women — and thanks to the fans for supporting what will be the greatest FIFA Women’s World Cup ever,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino told reporters last month.
Ticket sales have slowed in New Zealand, however, and on the eve of the big kick-off, Infantino pleaded with fans on Wednesday “to do the right thing.”
“New Zealand, we want you. We need you,” Infantino pleaded at news conference in Auckland. “It’s never too late to do the right thing. Come to watch the matches. We need full stadiums to warm us all up.”
Speaking alongside Infantino, FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura echoed his comments. "We still have tickets available for some matches, so my only plea is don’t wait until the last moment," Samoura said.
“You still can apply and get your ticket for the majority of the matches, and we hope that this will be also the most attended women’s sporting event — it is already, but that we will be reaching record figures,” she added.
Some more context: Xero, the official partner of the Women’s World Cup, has offered 20,000 complimentary tickets to games in New Zealand's four host cities. It is common for sporting events to allocate a certain number of complimentary tickets to fans.
New Zealand's Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson speaks during Labour Party Congress at Te Papa on May 27, 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images/FILE
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will begin as planned on Thursday, New Zealand's sports minister said.
Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson said he spoke to the president and Secretary General of FIFA after three people including the gunman were shot dead in downtown Auckland — where the World Cup is set to kick off — early Thursday.
“Tonight’s game will be played,” he said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told a news conference "there is no ongoing risk here." "The Minister of Sport will be continuing his ongoing liaison with FIFA and will be heading up to make sure a lot of the arrangements for tonight are well taken care of," Hipkins said.
The ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup gets underway in Auckland on Thursday as co-host New Zealand takes on Norway.
Later today, co-host Australia will face the Republic of Ireland.
Between today and August 20, 32 teams will compete across 64 matches at 10 different venues, making this year’s tournament the biggest to date.
How to watch the matches: In the US, games will be aired on FOX Sports, while Telemundo is providing Spanish-language coverage.
Seven Network and Optus Sport are broadcasting matches in Australia and the BBC and ITV have the rights in the United Kingdom.
A full breakdown of media rights holders in each country is available on the FIFA website.
An armed New Zealand police officer stands at a road block in the central business district following a shooting in Auckland, New Zealand, on July 20, 2023. Abbie Parr/AP
"Regarding the incident in downtown Auckland, all of our USWNT players and staff are accounted for and safe," US Soccer tweeted. "Our security team is in communication with local authorities and we are proceeding with our daily schedule."
US Soccer also expressed its "deepest condolences" to the families of those killed.
"We are saddened by the inexcusable loss of life to gun violence, and our thoughts are with the people of Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa New Zealand," the organization said in a separate statement.
At least two people died in a “serious incident” in New Zealand's largest city, according to police on Thursday.
Police said the “male offender” also died and the incident has been contained. Police also said multiple injuries have been reported.
An investigation is now taking place into what occurred, and cordons were put in place as police asked the public to stay away from the area, New Zealand police tweeted.
New Zealand is set to face Norway at Eden Park in Auckland later on Thursday.
The US opens its World Cup campaign against Vietnam at Eden Park on Friday night.
