The fifth edition of the blue riband event of women’s football – the FIFA Women’s World Cup – will get underway in China in just 365 days time. Bringing together the leading lights of the women’s game, sixteen teams will do battle for the game’s ultimate prize in the tournament that kicks off on 10 September and concludes in Shanghai on 30 September 2007.
The preliminary competition is underway all around the world, with Asia ahead of all other continents in their qualification process. Apart from the host nation who have qualified automatically, the other teams to have already secured their ticket to China are Australia, who fell to China on penalties in the final of the 2006 AFC Women’s Championship held on home soil, and Korea DPR, who finished third in the same event. Norway have also joined the list of qualified teams, even though the European preliminaries are still in full swing. Finally, Japan will play off against the third-placed team from the CONCACAF zone.
With twelve months to go until kick-off, the Chinese local organising committee (LOC), led by honorary president Mrs Chen Zhili (state councillor) and executive president Mr Liu Peng (minister of the general administration of Chinese sport), is currently finetuning its preparations. By drawing upon their immense experience in this area – having hosted the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup and having been due to organise the 2003 event before FIFA was left with no choice but to move the tournament to the USA due to the outbreak of SARS – the Chinese hosts are leaving no stone unturned as they strive to make sure that the flagship event of women’s football is a celebration of the beautiful game. The LOC is investing heavily in every area, including stadiums, training grounds, accommodation, transport and ticketing.
FIFA’s commercial partners are showing a similarly high level of commitment to the event, and without their support, technology, expertise, services, products and financial commitment, it would not be possible to hold the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The six FIFA’s Partners – adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates Airline, Hyundai, Sony and Visa – are also providing FIFA and the LOC with the equipment needed to host a top-quality FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their various contributions include among others the implementation of the youth programmes, the transportation services for teams and officials, sport equipment supply and soft drinks to the event delegation and volunteers as well as the vital IT infrastructure. FIFA has given Helios Partners the exclusive sales rights for the four national supporter contracts.
FIFA’s audio-visual partners are also heavily involved in the competition. Due to the quality of the football on show, numerous companies have approached the world governing body to acquire the broadcasting rights for the event. As such, around 50 companies are already on board for the FIFA Women’s World Cup China PR 2007, and that number is expected to increase as the tournament approaches.
The level of interest shown by FIFA’s partners is a direct reflection of the increased interest in women’s football in general. FIFA has played a crucial role in this development and continues to do so. World football’s governing body has helped women’s football to find the path of constant and sustained development by creating international competitions in numerous age categories, launching development programmes for women’s football all around the world, ensuring that member associations invest funds from FIFA’s Financial Assistance Programme in the women’s game, organising courses for female players, coaches, doctors, referees and officials, and by encouraging some of the game’s biggest stars to act as “ambassadors for women’s football”. Today, there are approximately 40 million female players around the world, a figure that speaks volumes about the game’s progress.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup China PR 2007 will surely show just how far the game has come. There are just 365 days to go. The clock is ticking…
FIFA Women’s World Cup China PR 2007 – Facts and Figures
Dates:
10-30 September 2007
Venues:
Shanghai (Shanghai Hongkou Football Stadium)
Chengdu (Chengdu Sports Center Stadium)
Hangzhou (Zhejiang Dragon Stadium)
Tianjin (Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium)
Wuhan (Wuhan Sports Center Stadium)
Participating teams:
China PR (host nation)
AFC (Asian Football Confederation): 2.5 teams* (Australia and orea DPR)
CAF (Confederation of African Football): 2 teams
CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football): 2.5*
CONMEBOL (Confederation of South American Football): 2 teams
OFC (Oceania Football Confederation): 1 team
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations): 5 teams (including Norway)
* The third-placed teams from AFC and CONCACAF will play-off (home and away matches), with the winner qualifying for the final competition.
Visit http://www.fifa.com/ for more information on the FIFA Women’s World Cup China PR 2007, including results and fixtures in the preliminary competition.
Further information from:
FIFA Media Department – Tel.: +41-43/222 7272 – Fax: +41-43/222 7373 – E-mail: media@fifa.org