Soccer News & Notes, March 4, 2011

FIFA confirms Canada as host of Women’s World Cup soccer tournament in 2015

March 3, 2011
The Canadian Press
ZURICH – The Women’s World Cup is coming to Canada in 2015.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter confirmed Canada as host of the 24-country soccer tournament at a news conference at FIFA House on Thursday morning.

"FIFA can count on Canada," said Dominic Maestracci, president of the Canadian Soccer Association.

There was little suspense leading up to the announcement. Canada had been up against Zimbabwe but the Africans pulled out earlier this week.

Canada was runner-up to Germany to host this summer’s tournament.

The CSA said seven candidate cities were included in its bid submission: Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Moncton, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver.

Toronto, home to BMO Field and Toronto FC, is a surprising omission.

Official host cities will be announced in the future following FIFA’s site inspections.

Canada will also host the FIFA Women’s U-20 tournament in 2014, which will serve as a test event for the World Cup.

The federal government has committed up to $15 million to the tournaments.

"Hosting these tournaments will further enhance Canada’s reputation as a sporting country and allow us to showcase several cities to a global television audience," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement.

"Like all fans, we look forward to cheering for our outstanding women’s teams at home, in 2014 and 2015," he added.

The Canadian women are currently ranked ninth in the world.

The Women’s World Cup will expand from 16 to 24 countries and from 32 to 52 matches in 2015. That’s the same size as the FIFA men’s U-20 tournament Canada hosted in 2007.

Canada also served as host of the men’s U-17 (1987) and women’s U-20 (2002) tournaments.

"We have the stadium infrastructure, the support and the experience as demonstrated by previous FIFA competitions hosted in Canada," said association general secretary Peter Montopoli.

"The Canadian Soccer Association is pleased to accept this honour today on behalf of the nearly 400,000 women players, participants in our beautiful game in our country … We look forward to welcoming the world and its game to Canada in 2015."

FIFA also awarded hosting rights for the men’s U-20 World Cup to Turkey in 2013 and New Zealand in 2015.

The men’s U-17 World Cup will be staged in the United Arab Emirates in 2013 and Chile in 2015.

Uzbekistan was chosen to host the women’s U-20 World Cup in 2012 and Costa Rica the women’s U-17 World Cup in 2014.

UEFA kicks off Euro 2012 ticket sales
Wednesday, March 2, 2011

UEFA claimed on Tuesday that it had already received ticket applications from nearly 600,000 people from 161 countries as the governing body officially kicked off ticket sales for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

More than 550,000 tickets are available for the general public through UEFA’s official website, www.uefa.com, until the end of this month, with UEFA holding a lottery in April to decide the recipients. More than 10 million people applied for 300,000 available tickets for Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

UEFA has underlined that the body’s website is the only authorised channel for ticket purchases. "We will be vigilant and will take all necessary measures against fraud," Pedro Correia, head of UEFA’s ticket operations, told AFP.

The cheapest Euro 2008 ticket was Eur45, but the lowest price for Euro 2012 is Eur30. The most expensive tickets will cost Eur600. UEFA’s ticket sales manager, Rainer Berak, added: "You can apply in the next few days or weeks and you’ll have the same chance. You’ve got the whole of March."

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily

Qatar ruler leaves door ajar for Winter World Cup
Friday, February 25, 2011

Qatar’s ruler has left the door ajar for a possible World Cup in the winter of 2022 after insisting he will ask his country’s inhabitants for their views before deciding whether to table the idea to FIFA.

There has been plenty of speculation that the tournament could be staged out of its usual summer slot in an effort to avoid the intense summer heat in the Gulf.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter recently said that the competition would take place in the summer, but a statement from Qatari emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani read: "We will ask the people what they want." The emir released the statement after holding talks with UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

Meanwhile Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani has admitted he knows little about the sport. "I do not know the rules," he said. "I like sport, of course, but I am not involved in sport."

Source: www.sportbusiness.com

Study reveals South Africa World Cup economy boost
Thursday, March 3, 2011

A new study by South African Tourism and the country’s Ministry of Tourism has claimed that the country’s economy received a R3.6 billion (US$523 million) boost from hosting the FIFA World Cup last year.

The report stated that more than 309,000 foreign tourists entered the country for the tournament, with South Africa also benefiting from a 9% increase in its image as a secure travel destination in comparison with the overall perception at the start of the event.

Of the 309,000 tourists, 38% were from Africa, 24% from Europe, 13% from Central and South America and an impressive 11% from North America. United States fans topped the charts with 30,175 travelling fans, while 24,483 arrived from Mozambique, even though the country’s national team did not compete in the World Cup.

Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told African Business Review: "More than half of the tourists who had attended other World Cup events in the past also felt that South Africa was a better host than other countries they had experienced." The government-commissioned report did not include tournament "pre-spending" in the country.

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily

South Africa happy to step in as African Youth Championship host
Thursday, March 3, 2011

South Africa is set to stage the upcoming Orange African Youth Championship after political unrest in Libya forced the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to look for a new host country.

The tournament, which is scheduled to begin on March 18, was originally slated to take place in Libya, but CAF asked South Africa to step in. South African Football Association (SAFA) president Kirsten Nematandani revealed the organisation had consulted with the South African Sports Confederation and the country’s National Olympic Committee before agreeing that the tournament could be staged despite very little preparation time.

"We are satisfied that we have the ability and capabilities to host such an event at short notice," said Nematandani. "In any case, the 2010 World Cup has left a massive legacy in terms of infrastructure and it was a question of agreeing to host or not."

He added: "We discussed the issue of the cost factor involved in hosting the event and also we sought assurance from CAF that we did not have to go into bidding with anyone to host the event. We have been assured that will not be the case, hence we went ahead to make arrangements." The tournament will see eight teams battle it out for semi-final places that will guarantee the four countries qualification to the FIFA Under-20 Youth World Cup in Colombia later this year.

Source: SoccerEx Business Daily