The original FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy will be received by Nigeria, the dominant force in African women’s football, as it arrives in Abuja on Sunday. The Trophy has already departed from FIFA’s headquarters and has travelled to a number of nations. On Saturday evening, it will arrive in Nigeria, one of only seven nations to have competed in every edition of the tournament.
All 32 nations participating in this year’s finals will receive the Trophy, with Nigeria serving as the ninth stop on its historic world journey. The only nations to have participated in every edition of the women’s premier competition since FIFA began hosting it 32 years ago are Nigeria, the United States, Norway, Germany, Brazil, Japan, and Sweden.
The ninth FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20, will once again feature all seven countries. With 32 teams participating, the one-month championship in Australia will be the largest in the competition’s history. This is the same number of teams that competed in the men’s World Cup in Qatar late last year.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup began in China in 1991 with 12 teams, and it continued with that number until the 1995 final in Sweden. In the United States in 1999 and 2003, China in 2007 and Germany in 2011, the competition expanded to 16 nations. In Canada, the game expanded to 24 teams in 2015, and it stayed that way for the most recent event in France in 2019.
Only four nations—the United States, Germany, Norway, and Japan—have taken home the glistening prize. Germany has won it twice, and the USA have won it four times. Japan and Norway each held the title once.
Africa’s banner will be flown in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand by Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, and Zambia. Nine-time African champions Nigeria have already been assigned to Group B, which also includes co-hosts Australia, the Republic of Ireland, and Canada. The Super Falcons will face Canada in their opening game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Friday, July 21, 2023 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
Beginning at noon on Sunday, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy will be on display at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, with a photo opportunity scheduled for a handful of invited guests. The FIFA team will make a polite visit to Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports, in his office at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium prior to the display.
