Adidas celebrated the global unveiling of its official FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ match football with a grand spectacle on one of Australia’s most recognisable shorelines.

The giant replica of the OCEAUNZ Official Match Ball measured 4m in diameter and soared high above Sydney completing a round-tour of Sydney Harbour by helicopter. For the grand reveal the football made its way to the iconic Bondi Beach vista and placed at Marks Park, which had been transformed into a quarter-sized football pitch for the event.

A whole host of special guests were in Sydney, not only from adidas and FIFA. Australia and New Zealand women’s national team players Cortnee Vine and Claudia Bunge, as well as iconic athletes including Australian Olympic champions Jess Fox OAM and Ian Thorpe, New Zealand Rugby Union great Dan Carter ONZ, and New Zealand women's Rugby Union player, two-time Olympic medallist Sarah Hirini joined in panel discussions and witnessed the launch.

Australia forward Vine highlighted the growing enthusiasm that she has witnessed domestically in Australia. “The crowds we have been getting has been fantastic and I can’t wait to see what that is like for a World Cup.”

Former Lioness turned football commentator Eniola Aluko, who was also in attendance, enthused about the tangible excitement that is building around the tournament. She also applauded the massive strides that the women’s game has taken.

“The journey of women’s football has been exponential,” said Aluko. “I retired in 2019 which is pretty recent and even since then there has been so much advancement in every way. New technology has been introduced and every single part of the game is advancing at a rate that when I was growing up, I never thought would happen in the women’s game.”

For New Zealand’s Bunge, it is a case of counting down the days and appreciating the privileged position that the current generation of female players are in.

"It cannot come quick enough,” she smiled. “I am excited and a little bit nervous. Being here, it is starting to feel real. It is an awesome time to be playing football as a female. It has been a hard road and a lot of people have grafted to be where we are today. We are very lucky.”

Carter, Thorpe and Fox are all equally excited about what the tournament will bring to Australia and New Zealand.

“As a proud Kiwi, to have the number one sport in the world played in our backyard, I just know the fans are going to get right in behind this event,” said Carter. “We are going to host the best ever FIFA Women's World Cup and the fans are a big part of that success. July can't come fast enough. "If you want to play a World Cup anywhere in the world, you want it to be on home soil. The advantage that gives you: familiar surroundings, playing in front of friends and family, it really is a special moment."

Thorpe’s advice to the players who will appear at the tournament is that preparation is everything. "Mental preparation plays a huge part,” he said. “It’s at least half of what we [athletes] have to do. Whether on the pitch or in a pool, it’s about being able to perform on your best day, but also when you aren't having your best day.”

And Fox believes the whole experience is a chance to inspire a further generation of children. "It is an opportunity, it is a privilege to have that expectation, to have that chance to play on a world stage and in a home event. It starts with that belief in yourself, that you have done the work, and that you deserve to be there,” she said. “I can't imagine how many little girls, and little boys, are going to be watching and being inspired, so that legacy is so important.”