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Women's World Cup Canada 2015 | Coupe du Monde
Féminine de la FIFA Canada 2015

FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Qualifiers underway in Asia later this month

2 May 2013

In just under three weeks, the next qualification matches for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 will kick off in Asia. This preliminary phase will feature 16 teams divided into four groups, with matches played in Bangladesh, Palestine, Bahrain and Jordan.

Teams competing in the preliminary phase: are Kuwait, Lebanon, Uzbekistan and host Jordan in Group A; Iran, Philippines, Thailand and host Bangladesh in Group B; Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Vietnam and host Bahrain in Group C; and Chinese Tapei, India, Myanmar and host Palestine in Group D.
From these 16 teams, four group winners will advance to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in May 2014. The eight-team competition will also feature Australia, China PR, Korea Republic and defending FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Japan.
As five teams are set to qualify out of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2014, at least one team from this first round of Asian Qualifiers in 2013 will make it all the way FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015.

Details on the route to the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 can be found via the Qualifiers tab on the FIFA.com/Canada2015 competition landing page.

UEFA Draw for the U-19 Championship

Another milestone on the road to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 will take place Tuesday 7 May when the final eight European teams are drawn into two groups for the final qualifying stage. Those eight teams will compete in the 2013 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship from 19-31 August in Wales, with only four teams advancing to the Canada 2014 competition.

The eight European teams remaining are Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and host Wales.

Details on the route to the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Canada 2014 can be found via the Qualifiers tab on the FIFA.com competition landing page.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 will run 5-24 August 2014. The 16-team competition will feature players born 1994 or later. The official host cities will be announced in June of this year.

Historically, the U-20 competition has served as a stepping stone for players en route to their national “A” squads and the FIFA Women’s World Cup. From the most recent four-year cycle, 53 footballers who represented their countries at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Germany 2010 made the jump one year later to the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011.

Club soccer underway in CONCACAF

The 2013 women’s club soccer season is underway in North America, with the professional National Women’s Soccer League kicking off last month. The eight-team league features footballers from eight different countries, including CONCACAF nations USA, Canada and Mexico.

After three weeks, Portland Thorns FC –who drew 16,479 fans to their home opener –sit atop the league table with an unbeaten record of 2-1-0. Team captain Christine Sinclair is the league scoring leader with two goals and one assist.

Starting next Saturday 11 May, the W-League kicks off its 19th women’s elite club soccer season. The 25-team league features clubs in three separate conferences, be it the Western Conference, the Eastern Conference, or the all-Canadian Central Conference.

The 2013 W-League matches in Canada will kick off on 22 May, with new club K-W United FC of Kitchener-Waterloo, ON hosting the London Gryphons. The four other Canadian teams are the Toronto Lady Lynx, the Ottawa Fury, the Comètes de Laval, and the Amiral de Québec.

FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015

The FIFA Women's World Cup is held every four years, with the next edition to be played in Canada in 2015. It marks the first major sporting event hosted in Canada from coast to coast, with matches to be played in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montréal and Moncton. The FIFA Women's World Cup will feature the 24 best women's football teams in the world.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 will be preceded one year earlier by the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, one of two FIFA women’s youth tournaments. The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup returns to Canada for the first time since 2002. The FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Canada 2014 will feature 16 teams featuring players born 1994 or later.

The National Organising Committee for the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 features Victor Montagliani (chair), Steven Reed, Janine Helland, Doug Redmond, Clare Rustad, Walter Sieber and Peter Montopoli.

Women's Football

2013-05-07UEFA Women's U-19 Championship Draw

2013-05-11
W-League season begins (with Canadian division beginning 2013-05-22)

2013-05-21,23,25
FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Qualifiers in Bangladesh and Palestine

2013-05-22,24,26
FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Qualifiers in Bahrain

2013-05-23
UEFA Women's Champions League final

2013-06-01,02
FIFA Women's International Window

2013-06-05,07,09
FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Qualifiers in Jordan

Official Website and Media Channel

The official website for the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 is FIFA.com/canada2015. The site will provide both pre-competition and competition coverage, including links to ticket information and ticket sales. Coverage will be provided in six languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Arabic and Portugese).

The FIFA Media Channel (http://media.fifa.com) is a media-only, password-protected service with specific content tailored to support journalists, photographers and other media professionals. Please note that all journalists must be registered on the FIFA Media Channel to be eligible for accreditation to FIFA events.

Media Contacts
Richard ScottDirector Communications
National Organising Committee
FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015
richard.scott@fwwc2015.ca
C 613.818.0305

For all questions pertaining to Canada's women's national team, please contact:
Max BellCanadian Soccer Association
mbell@soccercan.ca
C 416.797.9192

Morgan: I was that little girl once

Across the globe there are currently around 29 million women and girls who play football. For some, the dream of following in the footsteps of the game's greats will become a reality. After all, stars such as Marta, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan started out young and are now among the best in the business.
FIFA's Live Your Goals campaign aims to encourage girls and young women to play football and to inspire, nurture and consolidate an enthusiasm for the women's game. We spoke with the aforementioned trio about the importance of the programme.
"The Live Your Goals campaign is definitely huge, especially for female athletes," USA international Alex Morgan told us. "There are fewer opportunities compared to the men’s game. We have a responsibility as female professional athletes to create that passion in those little girls and to show them that those dreams can come true. I was that little girl once and I looked up to Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly and I dreamed of playing on the team they played on one day. And here I am.”
Since making her senior debut for USA against Mexico on 31 March 2010, Morgan has become a mainstay in the Stars and Stripes’ side. Having shone as a substitute at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™, the forward was a starter at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament a year later. Her performances there were rewarded with a nomination for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2012 award. Morgan’s dedication to achieving her aims is a perfect example that dreams can come true with the right combination of self-belief and hard work.

Never give up
The same mentality has helped Marta become the player she is today. The Brazilian has been nominated for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year honour nine consecutive times and has taken the trophy home on five occasions. It is therefore no surprise that the 26-year-old is an idol for many young girls, and it is a role Marta herself is well aware of.

Any young women out there that want to live their goals, I would personally tell them to challenge themselves and to do something that scares them every single day.

Abby Wambach, FIFA Women's World Player of the Year

“I’m really happy and proud for everything I’ve achieved so far in my career,” said the striker. “It’s definitely a pleasure and an honour to be able to inspire people to follow my example and reach for what they really love in their lives. I’m really happy if I can somehow be a role model for girls who look to become professional footballers.

“My main advice would be for people to work hard and never give up when they have a dream, regardless of how difficult it might seem,” Marta continued. “You have to follow your goals and never miss the opportunities that life presents to you.”
Such sound guidance surely set Abby Wambach on her way to the top of the game at the start of her career. It was no accident that the 32-year-old was crowned FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2012 earlier this month. “Any young women out there that want to live their goals, I would personally tell them to challenge themselves and to do something that scares them every single day,” Wambach said. “Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do something. Make choices and empower yourself to do whatever it is you love to do.”

Vital support
However, Wambach is also conscious of the fact that not all women have the same opportunities and that women’s football remains in a fledging state in many countries. It is in such instances that FIFA implements its women’s football development programmes and offers member associations multifaceted support, ranging from expertise, teaching and promotional material to football equipment and financial assistance. The aim is to encourage and create competition opportunities at all levels for women and girls in the next few years.
“FIFA’s support in any campaign, whether it’s for women or men, is critical,” continued Wambach. “It’s imperative for some of these women around the world to have the opportunity to know that they can be playing or have the right to be playing. I’ve travelled around the world and I’ve often seen women look at me and wonder ‘how are you doing this?’ And ‘why are you doing this?’ It wouldn’t even cross their mind that a woman can play football. Being somebody that can tell them ‘Hey, you can go and do this’ is something life changing, not only for them but also for their kids and their future relatives, especially in areas that are affected by civil war, violence or human rights issues,” the forward said.

Such insights make it clear just how important the support for women’s football is. Accordingly, FIFA will continue to promote its women’s development programmes in order to guarantee that women and girls all over the world receive the necessary attention and equality, as well as having the chance to live out their dreams through football.

Azerbaijan encourages girls to Live Your Goals

Tuesday 18 September 2012

On Monday, Baku hosted the last in a series of Live Your Goals festivals which have been taking place over the last few months in the Zagatala, Quba, Sheki, and Masalli regions of Azerbaijan.

The FIFA campaign "Live Your Goals" is part of the legacy of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Azerbaijan 2012 which kicks-off in four days time.
Present at the event at the newly reconstructed Bayil stadium were FIFA and AFFA representatives including the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee Elkhan Mammadov, FIFA Director for Member Associations and Development Thierry Regenass, FIFA's Head of Women's Competitions Tatjana Haenni, FIFA Ambassador for Women's Football Steffi Jones, captain of Costa Rica Shirley Cruz and Azerbaijan skipper Amina Heydarova.

The event started with a press conference followed by a performance from singer Chingiz Mustafaev and a dance group to kick-off the festival. After that 150 girls from the region had the chance to test their football skills, guided along the way by football coaches.

"I would like to congratulate the AFFA for holding this event," said Regenass. "Live Your Goals will leave a legacy in Azerbaijan. The target is to continue increasing the quantity of women involved in women's football as well as the quality of women's players in the future. Leagues are very important for the development of girls’ football."

With Live Your Goals, FIFA is aiming to use the popularity of FIFA women's tournaments as a catalyst to encourage young women and girls to participate in the sport. The campaign highlights the many different benefits which active participation in football brings, ranging from making friends, learning about teamwork and being physically active to coping with challenging situations, emotions and success.

“Young girls’ dreams are coming true, and they are getting a stronger say in society by getting involved in women’s football,” said Jones in a post-event press conference. “Women’s football is more than getting into a national football team.”

“Live Your Goals and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup highlights the fact that women’s football not only exists but is continually developing,” added Haenni. “Girls are eager and have chance to play football and we want them to have that chance.”