Where were you when North Korea took on the United States in the final of the 2008 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup?
The author of this piece was at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on November 16 that year as one of 16,162 people in attendance at that football match – the largest crowd to ever assemble for a standalone women’s sports event on New Zealand soil.
That record is set to fall – potentially on more than one occasion – over the next six weeks, as the Rugby World Cup takes place in Auckland and Whangārei, across 10 days at three different venues.
And that match from 2008 should slide further down the list next July and August, when football’s Women’s World Cup takes place in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin and 30 matches are played in the space of 27 days.
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World Rugby announced on Friday that more than 30,000 tickets have been sold for the first Rugby World Cup matchday next Saturday at Eden Park in Auckland, so as long as the buyers all turn up, it will be a historic evening in more ways than one as the Black Ferns take on Australia’s Wallaroos.
Not only will the mark of 16,162 from 2008 finally be eclipsed, but so will the record of 20,000 for a women’s Rugby World Cup match, set at the 2014 final at Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris, where England beat Canada 21-9.
The crowd will also be greater than the crowd of 28,581 that watched a women’s Barbarians team beat a Springbok XV 60-5 at Twickenham in London last November – a match that was originally the first of a double-header, but became a standalone fixture due to a Covid-19 outbreak within the men’s Barbarians team that was due to play Samoa.
As things stands, the 2008 Fifa Under-17 Women’s World Cup is seemingly responsible for generating the four largest crowds to watch women’s sport – and just women’s sport – in New Zealand history.
In addition to the final, there were also crowds of 13,123, for New Zealand’s 1-0 loss to Canada, also at North Harbour Stadium; 11,500, for a double-header featuring England’s 3-0 win over Brazil at Sky Stadium; and 11,170 for a double-header featuring New Zealand’s 2-1 loss to Denmark at North Harbour Stadium.
The decider was a thrilling watch for the historic crowd, with the US scoring early in slightly fortunate circumstances, when a throw-in was touched by North Korean goalkeeper Hong Myong-hui on its way into the back of her net, only to lose when Kim Un-hyang’s 77th minute equaliser was followed up by Jang Hyong-sun seven minutes from the end of extra time.
After the football in 2008, it appears the Silver Ferns have the next largest crowd on New Zealand soil, drawing 8,500 fans to a Constellation Cup clash with the Australian Diamonds at Spark Arena in 2012 – a figure they will have gone close to several times since.
There have been larger numbers present for parts of women’s sports matches when they’ve played as part of double-headers with men, such as when the Kiwi Ferns played before the Kiwis at Mt Smart Stadium in June or when the Black Ferns play before the All Blacks, as they did at Eden Park last weekend.
But as far as significant attendances at standalone women’s events, or events where women have been the headline act are concerned, the pickings are slim. There also haven’t been a lot of those events full stop, compared to the number of events with men as headliners, and many of the ones there have been haven’t been ticketed or had their attendances tracked, which makes compiling a comprehensive list a challenge.
Following Friday’s announcement that 30,000 tickets have been sold for next Saturday, it’s looking increasingly likely that the three Rugby World Cup matchdays at Eden Park could all be sellouts with crowds in excess of 40,000, potentially signalling the dawn of a new era of support for women’s sport in New Zealand.
Eden Park’s capacity has been reduced for the tournament, in order to allow a stage to be constructed for musical performances by Rita Ora (next Saturday), Shapeshifter (during the semifinals on November 5) and Benee (during the final on November 12).
That means the record set over the next six weeks will be there to be broken when the Fifa Women’s World Cup arrives next July, with New Zealand’s Football Ferns featuring in the opening match at Eden Park, which will also host a semifinal between two women’s football heavyweights.
In the past decade, the Football Ferns have played just five matches at home – as many as the Black Ferns have already played this year alone – but their last outing, against Japan in June 2018, attracted a crowd of 7,236 to Sky Stadium in Wellington, the largest they’ve ever mustered.
They’ll have plenty of chances to better that in the near future, with as many as nine home matches on the cards before they get to the World Cup, where they’ll be hoping to play in front of more than six times as many people as they ever have before on home soil.
An incomplete list
16,162: North Korea v United States – 2008 Fifa U-17 Women’s World Cup final; North Harbour Stadium
13,123: New Zealand v Canada – 2008 Fifa U-17 WWC; North Harbour Stadium
11,500: Brazil v England, South Korea v Nigeria – 2008 Fifa U-17 WWC; Sky Stadium
11,170: Colombia v Canada, New Zealand v Denmark – 2008 Fifa U-17 WWC; North Harbour Stadium
8,500: Silver Ferns v Australian Diamonds – 2012; Spark Arena
7,236: Football Ferns v Japan – 2018; Sky Stadium
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