U.S. soccer fans should prepare for late nights, early mornings and lots of coffee for the next four weeks, as the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is set to begin on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
Fox Sports executive producer David Neal told SI that the biggest challenge for his network during this World Cup will be the time difference, given the tournament is hosting 64 games across 10 stadiums in nine cities in the two countries. Australia spans four time zones—the World Cup final will take place in Sydney, which is 14 hours ahead of Eastern time—and New Zealand has one time zone, which is 16 hours ahead of Eastern time. And the network will get a taste of the Down Under time difference challenges right off the bat: The tournament will kick off on July 20 at 3 a.m. ET on Fox when New Zealand faces Norway, followed by Australia vs. Ireland at 6 a.m. ET.
Neal also said that airing games on Fox’s broadcast channel is vital in terms of generating a big audience. So in a day and age where streaming becomes more prevalent, Fox will air a huge bulk of games on free TV—29 on Fox (including five during primetime), marking the most Women’s World Cup games on a U.S. English–language broadcast network, plus 35 games on FS1.
