Women's World Cup awarded to Australia and New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand survived a stronger than expected challenge from Colombia to be awarded the right to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Following the withdrawal of Brazil and Japan, the joint southern hemisphere bid was the clear favourite having scored highly in the technical reports.

But there was surprise support for Colombia from the Football Association and other UEFA delegates, with the FA's Greg Clarke citing the 'strategic opportunity' to grow women's football in South America.

For the first time 32 teams will take part in the finals, an increase from 24 in France last year. There are 13 proposed venues - eight in Australia and five in New Zealand - including iconic grounds such as Eden Park in Auckland and Sydney's Stadium Australia, which hosted both the 2000 Olympics and 2003 Rugby World Cup final.