The ninth Women's World Cup opened with a celebration of New Zealand's traditional Maori culture on Thursday, despite a shooting near the Norwegian team hotel in the country's largest city of Auckland that left three dead and six injured.
Police said the shooter was among those killed and the danger from the incident was over, while New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said there was no risk to national security.
After an opening ceremony including the famous Haka war dance, New Zealand's Football Ferns open the tournament at Auckland's Eden Park against Norway on Thursday in what is likely to surpass the host nation's previous biggest crowd for an international football match.
Authorities deployed extra police and security outside the stadium following the shooting.
"Seeing the heavier police presence, I feel a lot safer now knowing that they're watching out," said Isabella Beeortegui, a 22-year-old student attending the opening ceremony.
"I'm so excited. The energy is crazy. Everyone looks like they're super stoked to be here."
A statement from football's governing body Fifa said it was supporting teams in the vicinity of the incident.
"Fifa has been informed that this was an isolated incident that was not related to football operations and the opening match tonight at Eden Park will proceed as planned," the statement said.
A fan park in the city will remain closed on Thursday, organisers said.
Co-hosts Australia, known as the Matildas, will begin their campaign against the Republic of Ireland in front of a sellout crowd of around 70,000 fans at Stadium Australia in Sydney – a record attendance for a women’s match in the country.
Players like talismanic striker Sam Kerr are household names in sport-mad Australia, with tickets for matches involving the home nation selling out months in advance.
"I'm sure that the whole of Australia will be behind the team tonight," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a radio interview with state broadcaster ABC on Thursday.
"I think that Australians are really realising just how big this event is."
In New Zealand, whose sporting culture is dominated by rugby union and its famous All Blacks, demand has been lower, with tickets remaining for many fixtures.
Fatma Samoura, Fifa’s Secretary-General, said tickets sold had already exceeded the total number sold for the last tournament in France, but sales in New Zealand had lagged its much larger neighbour.
“We know that Kiwis are late ticket purchasers when it comes to tournaments that are played on their shores,” she told a news conference in Auckland on Wednesday.
“We still have tickets available for some matches. So my only plea is don't wait until the last moment.”
