Four years ago, when it was announced that the Women’s World Cup would be expanded from 24 teams to 32, the idea was met with scepticism.
At the time, minnows Thailand had just been thrashed 13-0 by four-time world champions USA, and many were concerned the women’s game was not ready for a bigger pool.
It seems, however, the critics were wrong – as this year’s Women’s World Cup has shown.
With Olympic champions Canada, former world champions Germany and heavyweights Brazil all crashing out in the group stage and Jamaica, South Africa and Morocco making history by advancing to the knockout stage for the first time, the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand has been both competitive and full of upsets.
Jane Purdon, director of the Women in Football organisation, told Al Jazeera the expansion to the 32-team format “has been a brilliant success”.
“The reasons are…
