Introduction: The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: politics, representation, and management

In the opening chapter of this edited collection, the editors of the book summarise the recent growth in women's football and how this links to the historic nature of the 2023 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Women's Football World Cup and FIFA's recent developments around women's football. The chapter highlights how the tournament in 2023 is one of many “firsts” including the first to be co-hosted by two nations, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. This introduction foregrounds and lays out how each of the 12 standalone chapters from a range of international and disciplinary contributors weaves into the context, politics, representation, and management of the 2023 FIFA Women's Football World Cup. This introductory chapter arms the reader with a number of key considerations and a call to action for further research and discussion.