Just hours before Auckland was set to host the first match of the Women’s World Cup, the city awoke to the news of a fatal shooting, casting a cloud over what was intended to be a day of celebration.

The event occurred in the heart of New Zealand’s largest city, near a fan park where hundreds of football fans were expected to congregate. Two people were killed and six others were injured.

Fifa said it had been advised that the incident was isolated and that the match between New Zealand and Norway at Eden Park on Thursday will go ahead as planned.

People have travelled to the city from across the globe for the start of the World Cup, which has been labelled the biggest women’s sports event ever to be staged.

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 Women’s World Cup has been years in the making. I hope organisers are not going to completely let this overshadow the event. The Women’s World Cup is a really big deal for New Zealand.”

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”.

It added: “Fifa extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims who lost their lives following the incident which occurred this morning in Auckland, New Zealand, and our thoughts and prayers remain with those who have been injured in this tragic incident.”

A record 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.

“It is the biggest sporting event New Zealand has ever hosted,” added Auckland-based reporter Johnson. “We had our breakfast crews down at the fan zone this morning.

“There were excited fans and children. It’s just across the road from where this horrible incident took place.”

Among those visiting the city for the tournament is Sonia Orvaz, who has travelled to Auckland from California to support four-time world champions the United States.

“It’s sad when this sort of thing happens,” she said. “This will obviously overshadow the start of the tournament which is very unfortunate.

“It just makes me a little bit sad for Auckland. They’ve waited years for this.”

A Canada fan, Cherry Andrews, had been on her way to the fan park when she was diverted because of the incident.

“We didn’t know what was going on,” she said.

“Hopefully it is not going to deter people enjoying the Women’s World Cup and why we are all here in the first place.”

Source: BBC

The World Cup will begin in Australia the next week, and England will be one of the teams competing for the championship.

France, a European powerhouse that will be competing in the World Cup as well, will be hoping to put their recent issues behind them in order to compete for the honor. The French Football Federation created a fantastic tournament advertisement in collaboration with Orange.

The opening sequence of the two-minute commercial features superstars from the men’s team, including Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Kingsley Coman, and Aurelien Tchouameni.

In the series of highlights, players can be seen producing tricks, flicks and brilliant strikes.

Halfway through, however, the ad produces a killer twist.

A message on screen reads: “Only Les Bleus can give us these emotions. But that’s not them you’ve just seen.”

The video then rewinds to the beginning, and reveals that all of the clips shown were actually from France’s women’s team matches – edited with VFX to look like their male counterparts.

It then proceeds to show the real clips, with Delphine Cascarino and Co producing moments of magic.

Seeing the advert on Reddit, fans praised its originality.

One wrote: “I’m tricked. Going to question the rest of my reality now.”

While a second commented: “Absolutely bamboozled me. Great ad.”

A third admitted: “Pretty clever that. Can’t wait for the WC to start.”

Another added: “That’s actually really awesome.”

While a further social media user joked: “Knew it was fake when I saw Griezmann beat a man but great ad.”

France enter the tournament having sacked head coach Corinne Diacre in March.

The 48-year-old was said to have caused a “a very significant divide” within the squad.

Her tenure was littered with high-profile feuds with some of her most high-profile players – including Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Amandine Henry and Eugenie Le Sommer.

The final straw came earlier this year, when skipper Wendie Renard announced that she would no longer be available for her country because she “can no longer support the current system”.