One year to go
Monday, 11 September, 2006
The FIFA Womens World Cup will get underway in China in just 365 days time.
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, with England needing a point from their final qualifier away to France on Saturday 30 September. 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.
The LOC is investing heavily in every area, including stadiums, training grounds, accommodation, transport and ticketing.
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 Korea DPR)
CAF (Confederation of African Football): 2 teams
CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football): 2.5* teams
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.
Log onto TheFA.com tomorrow to find out Hope Powell's squad for the World Cup qualifier against France on 30 September.