Europe and Asia lead way to WWC2023 as FIFA add in 10-team qualifying tournament

December 30 – The expanded 32-team Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 will guarantee 11 direct slots to European nations and six to Asian nations.

The allocation of slots was made by the Bureau of the FIFA Council on December 24, who granted Australia and New Zealand automatic qualification places – it is the first time the Women’s World Cup has been co-hosted.

A total of 29 nations will qualify directly for the 2023 finals tournament, while a further 10 nations will compete for the final three slots via a ten-team play-off tournament that will be hosted in Australia and New Zealand as a test event for the finals. No date has been given for the qualifying tournament.

Direct slot allocation (29 of the 32 participation slots)

  • 6 direct slots for the AFC;
  • 4 direct slots for CAF;
  • 4 direct slots for Concacaf;
  • 3 direct slots for CONMEBOL;
  • 1 direct slot for the OFC; and
  • 11 direct slots for UEFA.

Play-off tournament slot allocation (3)

  • 2 play-off slots for the AFC;
  • 2 play-off slots for CAF;
  • 2 play-off slots for Concacaf;
  • 2 play-off slots for CONMEBOL;
  • 1 play-off slot for the OFC; and
  • 1 play-off slot for UEFA.

Play-off tournament format

Four teams will be seeded in the tournament based on the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking prior to the play-off draw, with a maximum of one seeded team per confederation.

  • In Group 1, comprising three teams, seed 1 will play for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup against the winners of the knockout game involving the two unseeded teams in the group.
  • In Group 2, comprising three teams, seed 2 will play for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup against the winners of the knockout game involving the two unseeded teams in the group.
  • In Group 3, comprising four teams, seeds 3 and seed 4 will play against the two unseeded teams in the group, with the two winners then playing for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

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