Record crowds expected as Women's World Cup kicks off despite Auckland shooting

SYDNEY/AUCKLAND : Australia and New Zealand will open the ninth Women's World Cup co-hosted by the two nations on Thursday, despite a shooting near the Norwegian team hotel in New Zealand's largest city of Auckland that left three dead and six injured.

Police said the shooter was among those killed and the danger from the incident was over, while New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said there was no risk to national security.

New Zealand’s Football Ferns will open the tournament as planned at Eden Park in the city against Norway on Thursday at 7pm local time (0700 GMT), in what is likely to surpass the host nation's previous biggest crowd for an international soccer match.

"Everyone woke up pretty quickly when the helicopter hovered outside the hotel window and a large number of emergency vehicles arrived - at first we didn't know what was going on, but eventually there were updates on TV and the local media," Norway captain Maren Mjelde was quoted as saying by newspaper Verdens Gang.

The Matildas will begin their campaign against the Republic of Ireland at 1000 GMT in front of a sellout crowd of around 70,000 fans at Stadium Australia in Sydney – a record attendance for a women’s soccer match in the country.

Women were banned from official facilities in England, the home of the game, until 1970, and female players faced similar discrimination in many other countries.

But the sport has achieved greater prominence in recent years, with large increases in female players and spectators globally.

Tracey Taylor, a professor of sports management at RMIT University in Melbourne, said many members of grassroots football clubs expected the tournament to have a transformative effect for participation in women’s sport in