The Republic of Ireland's World Cup opener against Australia in July looks set to be moved to the 82,500-capacity Accor Stadium due to the huge demand for tickets.
The match had been scheduled to take place at the Allianz Stadium in Moore Park, which holds 42,500 fans. Tickets sold out last week with Irish supporters frustrated at receiving just 1,700 tickets for the highly anticipated collision.
Vera Pauw's team will face off against the co-hosts in the second game of the tournament [New Zealand face Norway a few hours earlier], and with massive Australian interest - and a huge Irish diaspora in Sydney - demand emphatically outstrips supply.
FIFA are now likely to act on the matter by moving the fixture to the impressive Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park which was built for the 2000 Olympic Games.
If the game sells out, it would be the second largest crowd in Women's World Cup history, behind only the USA v China at the Rose Bowl in California [90,185] back in 1999.
A FIFA spokesperson confirmed to RTÉ Sport: "FIFA can confirm it has received a request from Football Australia to move Australia's opening FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 match against Republic of Ireland to Stadium Australia.
"An assessment of the request is being conducted, and FIFA will share its decision in due course. FIFA is committed to delivering the biggest and best Women’s World Cup in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand this year."
This development will be warmly welcomed by both countries - the FAI had been pushing FIFA to release more tickets for Ireland supporters.
Last week defender Louise Quinn aired her disappointment last week at the paltry allocation, tweeting: "Very unfair to our Irish supporters and to us, for such a small allocation," she tweeted. "Hoping they can dig out more tickets to create an unbelievable atmosphere!"
Addressing the issue of ticket availability, FIFA added: "FIFA provides all participating member associations (PMAs) at its tournaments, including the FIFA Women's World Cup, with the same opportunities to access tickets.
"When it comes to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, there are several stages to ticket allocation, just one of which includes ringfencing an initial allocation of tickets per match to ensure that fans and supporters of the competing PMAs can access tickets to support their team.
"We confirm that Australia-Republic of Ireland match in particular is currently demonstrating strong demand and interest from fans, and through the various stages of allocating ticketing thus far, it is evident that supporters of Republic of Ireland have accessed tickets.
"Data indicates not only significant expat support, but places Republic of Ireland in the top ten nations by Country of Residence for ticket purchasers."
In November Celtic played Everton at the Accor Stadium in a friendly. Just over 41,000 were in attendance.
