Hosts' enthusiasm very much in attendance at World Cup

Apart from all of the spectacular goals, the action-packed games and the underdog victories, there is one thing that has particularly stood out for me at this Women's World Cup — the crowds.

More than 44,000 fans passed through the turnstiles of Sydney Football Stadium to watch what turned out to be a historic match between Germany and Colombia on Sunday.

A crowd in excess of 42,000 attended New Zealand's opening victory against Norway in Auckland, accounting for 87.3 percent of Eden Park's capacity, while across the Tasman Sea, 75,784 people — equating to a 91.8 percent full Stadium Australia — watched the Matildas snatch a last-gasp victory over World Cup debutant the Republic of Ireland. To put that into perspective, the 2019 Women's World Cup final in France only managed to attract a "paltry" 57,900 spectators in comparison. Coincidentally, the same teams that played that game — the USA and the Netherlands — met in the group-stage this time around, and played an utterly compelling match in front of 27,312 spectators at a 79.1 percent full Wellington Regional Stadium.

Even the foul southern hemisphere winter weather hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of fans. Despite the teeming rain, so far, 901,311 ticket holders have filled stadia across Australia and New Zealand, marking a 54 percent increase over the previous competition after 16 games. Among them, more than 30,000 fans saw China's Steel Roses play their first two fixtures against Denmark and Haiti, respectively.

FIFA reported that, as of July 25, more than 1.5 million tickets had been sold for the showpiece tournament, and that TV viewership is up exponentially over that of the 2019 event. In the US, an average of 6 million people tuned in to watch the defending champion's opener against Vietnam, a 99 percent increase on the number of people who watched the US National Women's Team's corresponding game against Thailand in 2019. Across the pond, at the home of the European champion, England's win over Haiti saw domestic viewership peak at 4.2 million. In Australia, the Matildas' opener attracted three times as many TV viewers as those tuning in to watch their country dominate its old cricketing enemy, England, in the Ashes series — that says more than you may realize.

Even social media posts regarding the tournament seem to be generating far more engagement than in previous years, starting with the clever advert from Orange France, the mobile phone company that sponsors Les Bleues.

It features a spectacular montage of skills and goals from the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann, stars of the French men's team, interspersed with shots of cheering fans and rapturous crowds. However, as the advert continues it reveals that the visages of the men have been superimposed over those of members of the women's team: The goals, nutmegs and Cruyff turns were, in reality, performed by Eugenie Le Sommer and Sakina Karchaoui. It was trending on Twitter, Weibo and WeChat for weeks and was highly praised for helping to overturn negative stereotypes surrounding the women's game — much like this whole tournament seems to be doing. It feels like a watershed moment in the global perception of women's soccer.

However, I am not surprised one iota about how Antipodean sports fans have turned out in force to watch the matches. The crowds are filled with locals who are happy to adopt a team and get into the spirit of things — and they go the whole hog. Of this I have personal experience (and great memories).

In 2003, I was in Australia attending the Rugby World Cup. While I was in Sydney waiting for Wales' final pool game against New Zealand, I picked up tickets for a "dead rubber" fixture between Georgia and Uruguay for about AU$25($17). It was a match that no one would usually be interested in, just two minnow sides that were already out of the competition. It was no glamor tie, yet the ground was full. Traveling support for both sides must have totaled around 200 people-500 at a push — but for them, this was history in the making. Neither side had won a Rugby World Cup game before, so, one side or the other was going to write itself into the record books.

As I rolled up to the stadium, the first thing I saw was huge groups of Aussies drawing straws with each other to decide who they were going to back, then dispersing to the merchandise stands to buy the requisite shirts, scarves, hats or T-shirts. Some got their faces painted, and I watched as some others each got one letter painted onto their stomachs, so that when they stood in a row they spelled out "G E O R G I A".

It was one of the best games I have ever been to. Not for the quality of rugby, but for the atmosphere. The locals really got into it, shouting for their adopted team, cursing the ref, and singing appropriate songs they learned from actual Georgians and Uruguayans. Drinks flowed and lifelong friendships were forged. The sheer joy of seeing Uruguay win its first ever RWC game, and what it meant to the few actual Uruguayan supporters there, was amazing.

It's also a well-known fact that the Aussies and Kiwis love an underdog, and for too long, in my opinion at least (and seemingly for thousands of supporters in the two host nations) women's soccer has been just that.

So when I look at a stadium full of face-painted locals, whether they're New Zealanders supporting Zambia against Portugal, or Aussies getting behind Jamaica against Brazil, it seems like a rare FIFA masterstroke to host the tournament Down Under, and in doing so, help grow the women's game exponentially at such an important juncture in its modern development.

Contact the writer at mccarthy@chinadaily.com.cn