Women's World Cup build-up just lukewarm in New Zealand

An enthusiasm gap has emerged between the two co-hosts for the tournament, which kicks off in Auckland and Sydney on Thursday night.

Australian energy is built off the Matildas, led by superstar Sam Kerr, who are fresh from beating France last week for their fourth win over a top-six nation in the past year.

While the Matildas have every chance of a deep run, the underdog status of New Zealand's Football Ferns means the tournament hasn't caught the imagination of many Kiwis.

The battling Ferns have never won a World Cup match, and were on a 10-match winless run until last week's final hit-out against lowly Vietnam, which they won 2-0.

That match sums up the disparity between the experiences of the two countries.

The Matildas set an attendance record with more than 50,000 at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Friday for their last pre-tournament match.

New Zealand played their game in regional Napier in front of 6215, an official crowd figure which appeared generous.

Local media are not as enthusiastic about the Football Ferns or the tournament at large - which will be the biggest sporting event of 2023 and the biggest women's event of all time - than they are about the all-consuming All Blacks.

The New Zealand Herald, the country's largest daily, failed to feature a single story about the FIFA event in its print edition last Thursday, a week from kick off.

As of last week, FIFA confirmed some 300,000 tickets had been sold in New Zealand, well short of the nearly one million in Australia.

Roughly one-third of New Zealand's available tickets have been sold, with games hosted in Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton and Dunedin.

Local leaders have appealed to Kiwis to buy their tickets, with Sport Minister Grant Robertson telling AAP he didn't believe the massive scale of the tournament had resonated with Kiwis yet.

"People don't realise that this is a tournament where nearly two billion people will watch. And what an opportunity for New Zealand for football and for women and girls," he said.

Ticket give-aways are now being conducted for lower-drawing fixtures in New Zealand including Zambia-Japan and Spain-Costa Rica.

The group stages of the tournament are split equally between Australia and New Zealand, with 16 teams based either side of the Tasman as they aim to progress to the knockout rounds.

Australia's larger population and greater diaspora communities have helped sales, though New Zealand has one major drawcard: the United States.

The US is the two-time world champion and tournament favourite and will attract a huge travelling fan contingent.

While New Zealand's Hotel Council spokesman James Doolan likened demand to "a steamboat, not a jetboat", Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) was more positive on the tournament.

TIA chief executive Rebecca Ingram said hosting the tournament would provide a double boost for her members, both through bookings in the normally slow winter months, and through the exposure that would help into the future.

"Having this demand at a traditionally quiet time of year is very valuable," she said.

"Major events bring significant profile opportunities for New Zealand that will benefit tourism for months to come. The tournament is the third largest in the world for reach and the broadcast value and media attendance will be gold for New Zealand."

The tournament is the third successive Women's World Cup to be hosted in New Zealand, following last year's cricket ODI event - won by Australia - and rugby tournament.

Australian Associated Press