PARIS, June 26 -- Australia and New Zealand have beaten Colombia to win the bid to host the 2023 Women's Football World Cup. In the vote by the FIFA Council on Thursday, Australia and New Zealand beat Colombia 22-13 to host the tournament which is being expanded to 32 teams. "The FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand will be ground-breaking in many ways," said a delighted Chris Nikou, president of Football Federation Australia (FFA). "Not only will it be the first ever co-confederation hosted FIFA World Cup and the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in the Asia-Pacific region, but we will unlock the huge potential for growth in women's football in the Asia-Pacific region."

The 2019 World Cup in France was hailed as a wa...