Kick-off: 7 interesting facts about 2023 Women’s FIFA World Cup

<p>The much-anticipated 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off today in New Zealand. This year’s tournament, which happens to be the 9th edition of the senior Women’s football apex competition, will no doubt be an interesting one.</p>, <p>Here are quick facts you should know about the tournament, which will take place for a month, from today, 20th July, to 20th August, in Australia and New Zealand.</p>, <p>The Super Falcons of Nigeria will be appearing at the Women’s World Cup for a record 9th time. The Nigerian senior women’s football team has played in every FIFA Women’s World Cup since it inception in 1991. However, Nigeria has only qualified for the knockout stage on just two occasions, with their best outing being the 1999 edition when they reached the quarter-finals.</p>, <p>Since the inception of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, this is the first time the tournament will be jointly hosted by two different nations. This year’s tournament is co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, as opposed to a single host country in the previous 8 editions of the tournament.</p>, <p>The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will feature 32 teams for the very first time in the history of the tournament, as opposed to the 24-team format in the previous editions. This provides more nations with the opportunity to qualify for the tournament.</p>, <p>All 32 nations participating in this tournament will have a reason to smile all the way to the bank, regardless of the outcome of their teams in the tournament. With $110 million as the total prize pool, this edition has $80 million more than the prize pool of the previous tournament. While the champions will pocket $10,500,000, the runner-up will go home with $7,500,000. It is also worth noting that more than half of the money will be paid directly to the players.</p>, <p>For the first time in the history of both the Women’s and Men’s World Cup, an Arab female referee from Palestine, Heba Saadieh, will take center stage and officiate a match. This is a landmark moment in the history of football,