Due to the severe weather warnings in place for Kirikiriroa Hamilton on Sunday 12 April as a result of Cyclone Vaianu, Oceania Football Confederation, in consultation with New Zealand Football, local council, and the venue, has taken the decision to reschedule the semi-finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ Oceania Qualifiers at FMG Stadium Waikato to Saturday 11 April.

The decision has been made to ensure the safety of participants and fans attending the games.

Due to the late notice of the change of date, the event will now be made free entry to all fans. 

Fans looking to attend do not need to book a ticket in advance, they can just arrive at the stadium. 

All tickets booked for the original match day will be refunded by Ticketek. 

Both matches will kick off at the same scheduled times, one day earlier:

12pm NZT – Papua New Guinea vs American Samoa

4pm NZT – Aotearoa New Zealand vs Fiji

The final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ Oceania Qualifiers will remain on Wednesday 15 April at North Harbour Stadium in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, kicking off at 7pm NZT.

Lisa Jones, GM Competitions and International Events at New Zealand Football, said:

“It is very rare to move games like this, but we completely support this decision by OFC.

“From the advice we have been given, we strongly feel this is the best option to allow the fixtures to be played and to ensure the safety of everyone attending the matches.

“With a considerable number of people looking to attend the games, this is a decision we wanted made as early as possible to ensure we didn’t have people travelling in potentially dangerous conditions.

“We now look forward to two great semi-finals being played on Saturday ahead of next week’s final in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.”

Article added: Friday 10 April 2026