FIFA issued its branding for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, on Thursday, with a new tournament slogan, “Beyond Greatness.”

INTRODUCING...

The exciting new #FIFAWWC 2023 brand identity, incorporating the vibrant local landscapes & rich colours of 🇦🇺🇳🇿.

Beyond Greatness™ – a new tournament slogan to unite & inspire people around the 🌏 through the power of the tournament AND 👩⚽.

😍 pic.twitter.com/3KpZFH7cN0

— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) October 28, 2021

The new slogan, FIFA says, “aims to unite and inspire people around the world” through both the power of the Women’s World Cup and women’s soccer. The branding identity and emblem feature bright colors, meant to incorporate the “vibrant local landscapes and rich colours” of both New Zealand and Australia. As a result, FIFA built a palette based on the geographical attributes of the two countries, including the rainforests, mountains, cities and water that surround both countries.

A radical motif on the logo features 32 squares surrounding a soccer ball, which is meant to celebrate the tournament’s expansion to 32 participating nations. Additionally, the logo includes elements inspired by the indigenous cultures of Australia and New Zealand.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Women’s World Cup:

Dates: 

The tournament is set to kick off July 20 and run through August 20, 2023.

Setting:

The 2023 Women’s World Cup is set to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand. As such, the games will be split between the two countries, with four sites in New Zealand and five sites in Australia.

Host cities and stadiums: 

Nine cities will play host to the 2023 Women’s World Cup. They are:

• Adelaide, AU – Hindmarsh Stadium
• Auckland, NZ – Eden Park
• Brisbane, AU – Brisbane Stadium
• Dunedin, NZ – Dunedin Stadium
• Hamilton, NZ – Waikato Stadium
• Melbourne, AU – Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
• Perth, AU – Perth Rectangular Stadium
• Sydney, AU – Stadium Australia and Sydney Football Stadium
• Wellington, NZ – Wellington Stadium

How do teams qualify?

Qualification for the next World Cup is already underway, with the 2023 UEFA FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification (UEFA) period having begun on Sept. 16 and the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup (AFC) having started on Sept. 17. The 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations (CAF) began on Oct. 18.

As host teams, Australia and New Zealand are the only two teams to have earned automatic qualification, with their slots being taken directly from the quotas allocated to their federations, the AFC and OFC.

The 2022 CONCACAF W Championship (CONCACAF) is set to begin February 16, 2022 and conclude July 24, 2022. In total, 32 teams — including the USWNT and the reigning Olympic champions, Canada — will compete in the CONCACAF Championship, which announced a revamping of the tournament in August. Both the USWNT and Canada have already automatically qualified for the final stage of the championship.

The 2022 Copa América Femenina (CONMEBOL) will begin on July 8, 2022 and conclude on July 30, 2022 with three direct slots. Two teams that don’t receive direct qualification will advance to the playoffs.

The 2022 OFC Women’s Nations Cup (OFC) will begin on July 5, 2022 and end on July 31, 2022. With one direct slot already being taken by New Zealand, that leaves one playoff spot for the remaining 10 teams.

The 2023 UEFA FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification, set to conclude on October 11, 2022, has 11 total slots allocated as well as one playoff spot. So far, no teams have been eliminated from the 51 competing.

The inter-confederation playoffs will determine the final three qualification spots for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The playoff tournament, running from February 17th to the 23rd in 2023, will be used as a test event for Australia and New Zealand to host prior to the Women’s World Cup. Ten teams will be split into three groups, with the winner of each qualifying for the World Cup. Australia and New Zealand will also participate in friendlies against teams in two of the groups.

In total, 32 teams will qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, up from 24 in 2019.

The road to the College Cup begins this weekend, as the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament kicks off with a stacked first-round field on Friday.

The strength of the ACC again leads the charge with three of the 64-team bracket's four top seeds hailing from the conference.

Snagging the overall No. 1 seed is Stanford, with the Cardinal outlasting fellow NCAA top-seed Notre Dame in a penalty shootout to claim their first-ever ACC tournament title last weekend.

Joining the Cardinal and Fighting Irish in the remaining No. 1 spots are the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers and the SEC-leading Vanderbilt Commodores.

Meanwhile, the 2025 tournament's No. 2 seeds — Michigan State, TCU, Duke, and Georgetown — are gearing up to play spoiler, with other underdogs also lurking throughout the bracket.

Already eyeing future upsets are four-time national champions and No. 3-seed Florida State, No. 4-seed and Big Ten champion Washington, and undefeated mid-major dark horse Memphis, who enters the 2025 field as a No. 7 seed.

The ACC's on-pitch dominance also sees defending champion North Carolina in an unfamiliar position, entering the 2025 NCAA tournament unseeded after the 22-time title-winners finished seventh in the conference behind a 12-6 overall and 6-4 ACC season record.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament

The 2025 NCAA women's soccer tournament kicks off with 32 first-round matches across Friday and Saturday, all on ESPN+.

The action begins with unseeded Ohio State taking on No. 8-seed Georgia at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN+.

Two USWNT legends are seeing their legacies cemented, as the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that retired forwards Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are first-ballot inductees as members of the Class of 2026.

Both Heath and O'Reilly retired as World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, winning their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds as well as their 2015 World Cup title as teammates.

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The USWNT icons led all voting on the Hall of Fame's Player Ballot of 20 finalists, which only allots two to three athletes per annual class for induction.

O'Reilly snagged 47 of the 48-person selection committee's votes, with Heath earning 45 nods for inclusion.

Fellow former USWNT star Sam Mewis finished fifth on the ballot with 32 votes in her first year of eligibility, while longtime NWSL and USWNT player Amy Rodriguez came in seventh with 28 votes.

Longtime Seattle Reign defender Stephanie Cox — a 2008 Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT — also snagged votes, ranking 15th on the Class of 2026 Player Ballot.

Though they fell short of making the cut, a trio of former USWNT stars also earned votes on the 10-finalist Veteran Ballot, with longtime midfielder-turned-broadcaster Aly Wagner as well as legendary '99ers Tiffany Roberts and Lorrie Fair all snagging tallies.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct Heath and O'Reilly as part of its six-person Class of 2026 in a ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on May 1st.

Orlando Pride captain and Brazil legend Marta is back in the spotlight, topping the 2025 shortlist for the second-annual FIFA Marta Award — the women's goal-of-the-year prize established in her honor in 2024.

The 39-year-old attacking midfielder took home the inaugural trophy at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony last December, earning the title for a stellar long-range shot that helped lift Brazil over Jamaica 4-0 in a June 2024 friendly.

Marta's 2025 nomination, however, comes from an iconic goal in club play, with the FIFA Award spotlighting the Orlando game-winner against Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals — a goal that saw the Pride star force four Current players to the ground with her footwork.

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Marta has steep competition for this year's trophy, however, with 10 other goal nominees including a viral scorpion kick by former Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle, Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg's long-range missile against the North Carolina Courage, forward Ally Sentnor's first-ever USWNT goal at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, and more.

How to vote for the 2025 FIFA Marta Award

Holding 50% of the vote, fans can view and rank their top three goals of 2025 until voting closes on December 3rd.

Voting for the second-ever Marta Award winner is now open at FIFA.com.

South Carolina and USC are bringing fireworks to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball court this weekend, as the No. 2 Gamecocks take on the No. 8 Trojans in "The Real SC" showdown on Saturday.

Both standout programs enter the matchup undefeated in early-season play, with the Trojans touting a Top-10 win after narrowly edging out No. 10 NC State 69-68 last weekend.

"You don't know exactly what you have until you're put in these situations, which is why we schedule them," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about the upcoming clash. "And I think it's a chance for us to redefine our identity a little bit."

South Carolina's depth will likely test the new-look Trojans, as USC aims to solidify their identity with star JuJu Watkins sidelined with injury for the season.

That said, freshman Jazzy Davidson is giving the Trojans new life, with the No. 1 high school recruit co-leading the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

South Carolina, however, has seen early dividends from familiar faces, as sophomore Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring at 18.3 points per game, with high-profile transfer Ta'Niya Latson close behind with a 16.3 point average.

How to watch USC vs. South Carolina in the "The Real SC" NCAA game

No. 8 USC will welcome No. 2 South Carolina to LA's Crypto.com Arena for the inaugural "Real SC" game on Saturday.

The clash will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.