Another World Cup could be on its way to Dunedin.
The city has joined the Australia-New Zealand bid to host the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
The bid arrived at Fifa headquarters in Zurich yesterday.
If successful, Dunedin is expected to host several games. Others will be shared around other cities in Australasia, including Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.
The 2019 Women's World Cup, in France, had a total attendance of 1.13million fans and was watched by 1.12billion viewers around the world.
The 2023 cup would follow several other world sporting events the city has hosted in recent years, including the Rugby World Cup in 2011, and both the Cricket World Cup and Fifa Under-20 World Cup in 2015.
Forsyth Barr Stadium had been keen to attract such high-calibre events and Dunedin Venues chief executive Terry Davies said it would be great to host the event
"It would be terrific to be part of the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023 under the roof and a fantastic opportunity for southern fans to witness quality international football."
Enterprise Dunedin director John Christie said the benefits would flow on beyond sport.
"Hosting such an event will have significant benefits for Dunedin, with the economic impact expected to be more than $10 million.
"Just as important is the opportunity to showcase women’s international sports, which has been growing rapidly in the last decade."
Should it be successful, the joint bid would become part of football history as the first Fifa tournament hosted across two separate football confederations.
New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell said the joint bid was going well.
"New Zealand Football and Football Federation Australia are excited to be joining together to bid for the Fifa Women’s World Cup 2023.
"The impact of hosting such a prestigious and popular event on our shores would be massive – not just in a sporting sense but for the country as a whole.
"We’re very excited about this opportunity, particularly the chance to bring a world-class event to our regions and cities."
