The FIFA Council voted to award the ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup to the trans-Tasman bid during an online meeting.

It had been considered the front-runner in the bid race, having received the higher score of 4.1 in the FIFA evaluation report published earlier this month, and received 22 out of a possible 35 votes from the Council.  

Nikou thanked FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation, Oceania Football Confederation and Australian and New Zealand Governments for their support during the bid race. 

"The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand will be ground-breaking in many ways," he said.

"Not only will it be the first ever co-Confederation hosted FIFA World Cup and the first ever FIFA Women’s World Cup in the Asia-Pacific region, but we will unlock the huge potential for growth in women’s football in the Asia-Pacific region."

Wood, a FIFA Council member herself, also offered her thanks and described the tournament as a "catalyst for ensuring the development of women’s football continues in the Asia-Pacific region and globally."

Australian and New Zealand players have been reacting positively to the announcement, with Matildas captain Sam Kerr describing the news as a "dream come true."

"The opportunity to play in a home FIFA Women’s World Cup is something every footballer dreams of and I am looking forward to seeing those dreams come true," she said.

"Playing for the Matildas in Australia will be the highlight of my career and an opportunity to inspire girls, both in Australia and New Zealand, and all over the world to play football. 

"We have seen great progress in the women’s game and Australia-New Zealand will take the game to a whole new level."

Landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Auckland's Sky Tower were lit up in celebration of the successful joint bid. 

Wood, Nikou, Kerr and Riley all featured in the final presentation to the FIFA Council, alongside Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

It has been proposed to hold the tournament from July 10 to August 20, with the opening game set to take place in Auckland's 50,000-seat Eden Park and the final in Sydney's 70,000-capacity Stadium Australia.

In the evaluation report, the Australia and New Zealand bid was praised for its commercial potential in particular. 

"The Australia/New Zealand 2023 bid provides a variety of very good options in terms of sporting and general infrastructure," the report said. 

"It would also appear to present the most commercially favourable proposition, taking into consideration the financial commitments made by the Governments of both countries towards the operational costs of the tournament."

The report acknowledged that a joint bid between two countries could be a "more complex undertaking", however.

Colombia, the only other contender, scored 2.8 in the evaluation report and obtained 13 votes. 

Since losing the bid, the Colombian Football Federation released a statement thanking the Government for their support in the campaign.

It also congratulated the FFA and NZF on Twitter.