At this year’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, seven teams will compete in the tournament for the ninth straight time; Japan, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Nigeria, Brazil and United States. It’s an impressive feat, given that there have only been nine iterations of the footballing showcase to qualify for; it’s indicative of their place at the forefront of women’s football in their regions and how established the women’s game has become in these nations.
Though the battle for improved playing and training conditions and equitable opportunity continues, they’ve at least reached a point wherein they have established a national setup that makes qualifying for a World Cup feel routine.
But inverse to this, you have the 2023 debutants. Eight teams stepping into the unknown when they depart for the antipodes for their first-ever WWC this July. Philippines, Vietnam, Zambia, Morocco, Republic of Ireland, Haiti, Portugal and Panama represent the start of something new this year, marking a significant touchstone for football in their countries as well as validation for the unheralded and often unthanked pioneers that drove the game within them.
With the tournament expanding to…
