ust hours before Auckland was due to host the opening match of the Women’s World Cup, the city woke up to news of a deadly shooting which cast a shadow over what was supposed to be a day of celebration.
The incident happens in the centre of New Zealand’s largest city, close to where hundreds of football supporters were due to gather at a fan park, left two people dead and six others injured.
FIFA said it was informed it was an isolated incident and yesterday’s match between New Zealand and Norway at Eden Park went ahead as planned.
Jacob Johnson, a reporter for 1 News in Auckland, told BBC Sport: “The fact it has happened on the day that was meant to be a huge celebration for New Zealand is just gobsmacking.
“The Women’s World Cup was supposed to be a huge win for women’s sport.
“In New Zealand it is something we are really trying to push. It’s such a shame that something like this will probably dominate the headlines for days.
The shooting took place on a construction site in the central business district at 07:22 (20:22 BST). The gunman was declared dead after the attack, which is not being seen as an act of terrorism.
Auckland Mayor, Wayne Brown, said all FIFA personnel and football teams were safe and had been accounted for.
FIFA released a statement saying it had been “in constant contact with the participating teams affected by this incident.”
A record of 32 teams are taking part in the tournament in Australia and New Zealand over the next four weeks.
Auckland is hosting nine of the 64 games. –BBC
