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Vietnam's women football team parade the national flag after defending their SEA Games gold medal against Thailand in the Philippines, December 8, 2019. (Photo: VnExpress)

The Bureau of the FIFA Council on Monday announced several important decisions taken concerning upcoming FIFA competitions.

Following the success of the 2019 edition, the decision was taken last year to expand the FIFA Women’s World Cup to 32 teams, and thus continue to foster the growth of women’s football. FIFA has since worked closely with the confederations to formulate a proposal for the allocation of slots and the Bureau of the FIFA Council on Thursday has confirmed the following berths for the 2023 edition, according to Sports Stars.

32 slots include:

6 direct slots for the AFC (Asia);

4 direct slots for CAF (Africa);

4 direct slots for Concacaf (North, Central American, and Caribbean);

3 direct slots for CONMEBOL (South America);

1 direct slot for the OFC (Oceania); and

11 direct slots for UEFA (Europe).

Vietnam team are ranked 34th (Thailand 38th and Chinese Taipei 39th), first in Southeast Asia and fifth in Asia. (Photo: Thethao247)

The two host countries, Australia and New Zealand will automatically qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, and their slots have been taken directly from the quotas allocated to their confederations, namely the AFC and the OFC respectively.

In addition to powerhouses Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea, some lower-rated teams such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Chinese Taipei, will have additional opportunities to compete for a World Cup berth.

According to the FIFA Women’s World Rankings for December 2020, the Vietnam team are ranked 34^th (Thailand 38^th and Chinese Taipei 39^th), first in Southeast Asia and fifth in Asia, said Nhan Dan.

In January 2021, Mai Duc Chung’s troops will convene a training camp for around one month to make preparations for their key tasks set for the year, including the AFF Women’s Championship, the 31^st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), and the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers, which serve as the first stage of Asian qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.

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