Fans to stay awake for 2023 Women World Cup matches

• Maori culture on display as festival kicks off despite shootings
Nigerian fans that want to follow the matches of the Australia/New Zealand 2023 Women World Cup matches must be ready to sacrifice their sleep to watch games of the competition.

Apart from Nigeria’s second and third games against Australia and Ireland on July 27 and July 31 respectively, which start by 11.00am Nigerian time, the other matches will hold when most people in West Africa are sleeping.

Nigeria’s opening game against Canada was played around 3.30am this morning and should the country qualify for the second round, fans would have to stay awake till 4.00am or wake up that early to watch the Falcons’ second round game against a team yet to be decided by 3.00am on August 6.

Some of the games will hold in the early hours of each match day (from 1.00 a.m.), but the organisers have assured fans that they are in for a great festival of football.

The Super Falcons are in Group B alongside Canada, co-hosts Australia and newcomers Republic of Ireland.

They are looking to better their 1999 showing, where they finished in the quarterfinals at the edition hosted by United States.

Thursday’s opening ceremony was a celebration of Maori and First Nation culture as indigenous art took the centre stage.

Singers, dancers and firework displays helped to create a dazzling opening ceremony for the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

The celebrations held shortly before New Zealand – who are joint hosts for the tournament alongside Australia – kicked-off their group-stage match against Norway.

A performance by Maori and First Nation dancers marked the start of the ceremony, before groups of entertainers – representing each of the countries taking part at the World Cup – arrived on the pitch.

The official match ball was presented to the United States and Japan – champions of the previous three Women’s World Cups – to represent the Maori koha, a challenge to the other 30 competing teams.

Benee and Mallrat from New Zealand and Australia also performed a rendition of the tournament’s official song, ‘Do It Again’, respectively.

Earlier in the day, FIFA had confirmed that the tournament’s opening match would ‘proceed as planned’ after a shooting in Auckland’s central business district.

Three people were killed in the shooting, which police in the country have called an ‘isolated incident’ and ‘not a national security risk.’

Meanwhile, squad based in New Zealand were shocked by a deadly shooting near several team hotels on the opening day of the tournament.

The incident, which left two victims and the gunman dead, occurred close to the hotels of reigning champions, the United States, as well as the Philippines and Norway, who later lost 0-1 to co-hosts New Zealand.

Norway captain, Maren Mjelde, told reporters that her team were woken by a helicopter and ‘a large number of emergency vehicles.”

“At first we didn’t know what was going on, but eventually there were updates on TV and the local media,” she said in a statement hours before the kickoff.

“Everyone seems calm and we are preparing as normal for the game tonight,” she added.

FIFA said in a statement that it had been ‘in constant contact with the participating teams affected by this incident.’

“The participating teams in close proximity to this incident are being supported in relation to any impact that may have taken place,” FIFA added.

New Zealand’s government has said there was no broader national security threat and the tournament will go ahead as planned.

The shooting marred what was supposed to have been a day of celebration marking the start of the first-ever 32-team Women’s World Cup.