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.

Rose Lavelle is hoping to return to the field soon. 

The 28-year-old midfielder has been sidelined with a lower leg injury since the Gold Cup in early march. Since then, she has yet to play for new club Gotham FC in the NWSL. She also missed a potential USWNT appearance at the SheBelieves Cup in April, where senior team newcomer Jaedyn Shaw saw success assuming Lavelle's role in the attacking midfield. 

At the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee media showcase on Monday, Lavelle told reporters that she’s doing well and hopes to be back soon.

"I’m doing good — I’m hoping I’ll be back in the next couple weeks," Lavelle said. "It’s frustrating to start the year off with an injury, just because I feel like you come off preseason and you’re revving to go, so it’s so annoying."

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Lavelle is still looking to compete for one of just 18 Olympic roster spots. When healthy, she ranks as one of the national team’s most trusted assets, but considering this most recent injury, her health is an obvious concern. Faced with an onslaught of experienced competitors and young talent, incoming USWNT coach Emma Hayes will have some big decisions to make when selecting the Paris-bound squad — a reality Lavelle seems to be taking in stride as she works to regain full fitness.

"We have so many special players, we have so much depth, and so many different weapons to utilize on and off the bench," Lavelle said. "Unfortunately that means really good players are going to get left off, too. And I think for all of us, it’s just about being ready for whatever role is given to us, embracing that, and looking to put it into a collective picture so that we can go into the Olympics ready to go."

Stanford has found its replacement for legendary head women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer in associate head coach Kate Paye.

The Cardinal confirmed the hiring on Tuesday via a press release. Paye was largely expected to replace the longtime head coach, as the college mentioned they were still negotiating Paye's contract when they announced VanDerveer's retirement.

In Tuesday's statement, Paye reported that she was "humbled" to have been tapped to lead the women’s program.

"Stanford University has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember and I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead its women’s basketball program," Paye said. "I’d first like to thank Tara, who has played such a pivotal role in my career for her friendship and guidance. It’s not what she’s done, but how she’s done it, that has had such a profound impact upon me."

A Woodside, California native, Paye played under VanDerveer from 1992 to 1995, taking home a national title her freshman year. After graduation, Paye briefly joined San Diego State as an assistant coach before making her professional debut with the ABL's Seattle Reign in 1996. After finishing her playing career with the WNBA's Seattle Storm, she joined the team’s coaching staff in 2007 and has been with the organization ever since, picking up another national title win — this time as associate head coach — in 2021. Paye's brother John played quarterback for Stanford from 1983 to 1986, while also serving as a point guard on the basketball team.

In her own response, VanDerveer said that she was "grateful" that Stanford picked Paye to follow in her stead. Last week, the decorated coach stated that this year would be her last after 38 seasons at the helm and three national titles under her belt.

"She has long been ready for this opportunity and is the perfect leader for Stanford at this time of immense change in college athletics," VanDerveer noted. "Kate was the choice for this job and I am confident she will achieve great success as head coach."

The 2024 WNBA Draft has officially concluded, leaving the newly minted rookie class facing a tough road ahead.

Only 144 roster slots are available throughout the league’s 12 teams, the reason why the players are sometimes referred to as the “144.” And Monday’s draft picks are set to join a large group of established players competing for those same roster spots, from seasoned veterans to young athletes determined to prove their value on the court.

Last year, just 15 of the league’s 36 draftees made it onto their drafting team's opening-day squad.

In reality, there are oftentimes fewer than 144 spots available, as not every team maxes out their roster. Per the league's CBA, each team roster must maintain a minimum standard of 11 players, but those lists can include players out with injuries or on other forms of leave. Players can also be assigned to short-term hardship contracts, something waived players must be prepared for at any point during the season.

Earlier this week, Laeticia Amihere — a 2022 national champion with South Carolina who currently plays for the Atlanta Dream — took to TikTok to provide some insight into the WNBA training camp process. 

"You can either get drafted on Draft Night, or you can get signed by a team," she said. "Once that happens, you go to training camp literally like two weeks later... Basically everybody's got to try out. There's 12 roster spots, and there's like 18 people at the at the trial."

@laeticiaamihere Replying to @dantavius.washington #wnba #draft ♬ original sound - Laeticia Amihere

Amihere also had an important point to make: Getting cut does not signify a player’s abilities. 

"If you get cut after training camp, that does not mean you're not good," she said. "That does not mean that player sucks, don't stop supporting that player. Literally, there's so many reasons somebody can get cut."

"If you guys look at the best players in the league, most of them have bounced around teams," she added. "And I promise you it is not a bad thing, it's just how the league is."

Things, however gradually, are changing. With Golden State's WNBA team scheduled to launch in time for the 2025 season, league expansion is just around the corner. On Monday, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is aiming to grow to 16 teams by 2028. But by then, it might be too little too late for the generation of talent emerging from an increasingly competitive NCAA system.

Monday night’s WNBA draft added to the nationwide uptick in record-breaking women's sports viewership, pulling in 2.45 million viewers throughout the nearly two-hour broadcast and peaking at 3.09 million, according to an ESPN release. 

That number shatters the previous draft viewership record — 601,000 in 2004 — which was fueled primarily by then-No. 1 pick Diana Taurasi entering the league after UConn's historic three-peat March Madness performance.  

The 2023 WNBA draft drew 572,000 viewers, the most for any televised WNBA event since 2.74 million tuned in to NBC for a Memorial Day matchup between the New York Liberty and Houston Comets back in 2000.

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While many came to watch Caitlin Clark get drafted No. 1 overall, it’s important to note that viewership didn’t take a massive dip after the superstar shooter left the stage. The numbers show that a bulk of the audience stuck around to watch the remainder of the show, making 2024's event not just the most-viewed WNBA draft in history, but also the most-viewed WNBA program to ever air on ESPN platforms.

Draft Day's popularity is yet another sign indicating an expected rise in WNBA regular season viewership. Clark and Iowa's NCAA tournament showdown with the Chicago Sky-bound Kamilla Cardoso's South Carolina side drew a record 18.7 million to ABC's Sunday afternoon broadcast. Banking on this trend, 36 of Indiana's upcoming 40 games are set to be shown on national television. In-person ticket sales are also soaring, leading the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to re-home their matchup with the Fever to a venue that can accommodate some 6,000 more fans.