Women’s football will witness a series of competitions in 2023 including the mega event hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the FIFA Women’s World Cup. With an increase in the international tournament this year because of the World Cup in addition to the high-stake club football, this year promises to be more action-packed than before. While a lot of games are detrimental to players’ health by risking injuries, athletes will also see the positive side of getting exposure to a lot of contests and game time this term. One thing is for sure the year 2023 will add to the rapid growth of Women’s football in reaching enormous heights.
Here are the noteworthy competitions in the calendar year:
February 2023
2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Playoff
The final places for the group stages of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be decided in the playoff tournament organized in February. Cameroon, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Haiti, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Portugal, Senegal, and Thailand will battle it out for the remaining three spots. The playoff tournament will be hosted by New Zealand as a test event for the main competition later. It will begin on 18th February and end on 23 February 2023.
SheBelieves Cup
The qualified teams for the Women’s World Cup will make the best of their preparation for the tournament. Hence, this year SheBelieves Cup will have a greater purpose to fight for. Hosts United States or the USWNT will compete against 2022 Copa America winners Brazil, Japan and Italy in the four-nation tournament played in a round-robin format. It is scheduled to start on February 16 and run until February 22, 2023. The USWNT are the defending champions with three straight titles and six overall.
Arnold Clark Cup
Similarly, the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup will be an important preparatory tournament for a mega event of women’s football once again in its second edition. England won the inaugural edition and went on to win the 2022 European Championship being the hosts in both. The Lionesses will be eager to defend the title as they take on South Korea, Italy and Belgium in the four-nation tournament. The invitational tournament will be held from 16 to 22 February 2022.
2022/23 UEFA Women’s Champions League knockouts
The 2022/23 UEFA Women’s Champions League quarterfinal will take place this month with the top two sides from each of the four groups advanced to this stage. The group winners - 2021 runners-up Chelsea, two-time winners Wolfsburg, 2007 winners Arsenal, 2021 winners Barcelona and second placed teams – two times runners-up PSG, debutants Roma, holders Lyon and
Bayern Munich will be involved. The quarter-final and semi-final draw is on 10 February 2023.
April 2023
Women’s Olympics Asian Qualifiers Round 1
The 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be the sixth edition of the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The first round of the qualifiers will begin from 3rd April to 11 April 2023. 26 teams will be divided into five groups of four and two groups of three and compete in a one-round league format in a centralized venue. Then seven teams from the first round will progress to the second record to meet the five teams who have directly entered this round in October 2023. The three group winners and the best-ranked runners-up in this round will then advance to the third round with two eventual winners qualifying for the Olympics in Paris next year.
May 2023
End of top five leagues in Europe
The 2022/23 season for the top-five leagues in Europe will come to a grand conclusion in May. The Women's Super League or WSL is being hotly contested again with Manchester United the surprise league leaders at the moment and holders Chelsea in second separated only by goal difference. Arsenal are not far behind with Manchester City also pushing them for a Champions League spot. Roma are close to clinching their second Serie A Women’s title while in France, Lyon and Paris are understandably locked in a neck-to-neck battle for the league honor. Over in Germany, Wolfsburg have a five-point cushion at the top of Frauen Bundesliga while Barcelona seemingly sees no change in retaining their league title for the fourth consecutive season.
June 2023
2022/23 UEFA Women’s Champions League final
The 2022/23 UEFA Women’s Champions League final will be staged at PSV Stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands on 3rd June 2023. Record eight-time champions Lyon are holders of the competition having beaten Barcelona 3-1 last year.
July – August 2023
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Australia & New Zealand
With the club football ended and all the preparation done, eyes will be drawn toward the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted by Australia & New Zealand. For the first time ever, 32 nations will be competing for the biggest international honor in women’s football. 29 teams are placed in their groups with three remaining slots to be determined at the end of the Playoffs Tournament. USWNT are the holders of the competition after winning the last edition in France four years ago. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will kick off on 20th July 2023 and will draw its curtain with the prestigious final a month later on 20 August 2023 in Stadium Australia, Sydney.
September 2023 – November 2023
2023/24 League season
The 2023/24 League season for all the top five leagues is expected to begin in September. A new Women’s Champions League season will get underway in October as well. The dates for the CAF Women’s Champions League and AFC Women’s Club competition are not set but both could possibly take place in November like the previous editions.
Also Read | Indian Football Calendar for the year 2023
