23 January 2014
Last week, three teams from the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship qualified for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014, with USA taking top honours in the continental final. USA and Mexico qualified on Friday past while Costa Rica qualified on Sunday 19 January.
Of 16 spots, 11 have been filled by teams from CONCACAF, the AFC (Asia) and UEFA (Europe). Along with host Canada, the other teams that have qualified are China PR, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, England, Finland, France and Germany.
USA has qualified for all seven editions of the competition while Mexico has now qualified for six of the seven. Costa Rica, meanwhile, has now qualified for two editions.Costa Rica was less than five minutes away from elimination when they equalised and forced their qualifier into extra time against Trinidad and Tobago. Michelle Montero scored the equaliser before Nicole Araya scored the winner in extra time.
African Qualifiers to conclude on Sunday
The two African spots for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 will be decided this weekend on Saturday 25 January and Sunday 26 January. The two winners will be the 12th and 13th teams to qualify for Canada 2014.
On Saturday, Nigeria takes its 6-0 series lead to South Africa. Nigeria appears to be in full control of earning a seventh-consecutive berth to the biennial event, although South Africa has promised to end their Qualifiers on a high.
On Sunday, Equatorial Guinea takes its narrow 1-0 lead to Ghana. Equatorial Guinea hopes to earn its first-ever qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, but Ghana and its home crowd stands in the way. Ghana has qualified for the last two editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.Following the Africa matches, two more teams will qualify from South Africa by 31 January. The 16th and final team, at last, will qualify in February through the Qualifiers in Oceania.
FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Qualifiers continue in February
FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Qualifiers are just three weeks away, with competitive matches to resume in Europe and begin in Africa. Sixteen European teams will play matches from 12-13 February while 22 African teams will played matches from 13-15 February.
Five African countries are making their first-ever appearances in FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers: Burkina Faso, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda and South Sudan. It was in fact just two years ago that South Sudan became the 209th member association of FIFA in 2012.
In all, 26 teams from the African continent will compete in the Canada 2015 Qualifiers, with just three to qualify for the big event. From the first round (the second legs are 28 February to 2 March), Cameroon, Equatorial Guineau and South Africa have a bye into the second round.
From the second round (May and June 2014), seven teams will advance to the eight-team African Women’s Championship in October (with host Namibia already promised a spot in the continent’s final eight).
Graduating players selected by NWSL professional teams
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup champion Crystal Dunn was the first-overall selection in the 2014 National Women’s Soccer League draft held on 17 January 2014. Dunn, selected first by the Washington Spirit, was a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup all-star at both Germany 2010 (after USA finished fifth) and Japan 2012 (after USA finished first).
In all, 36 players were drafted by the nine NWSL teams, including Canadian Nkem Ezurike (pronounced kem Zuh-ri-KAY) who was selected eighth overall by the Boston Breakers. Ezurike, who attended the University of Michigan, was a Jubilee Trophy winner with Halifax City in 2008 and a W-League finalist with the Comètes de Laval in 2013.
Along with Dunn, the top six selections in the 2014 NWSL College Draft were all members of that winning USA team from the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Japan 2012: Keali Ohai (second overall by the Houston Dash), Julie Johnston (third overall by the Chicago Red Stars), Vanessa Di Bernardo (fifth overall by Chicago), Kassey Kallman (sixth overall by FC Kansas City), and Maya Hayes (Sky Blue FC).
Canada WNT Wilkinson appointed to FIFA Strategic Committee
Canada’s Rhian Wilkinson has been appointed to the FIFA Strategic Committee. A CONCACAF champion and Olympic bronze medal winner, Wilkinson has more than 140 matches of international experience to her credit.
“It’s a great opportunity,” says Wilkinson. “I look forward to working as a CONCACAF ambassador on FIFA’s strategic planning committee, representing my country and my federation on the international stage.” The Strategic Committee has been established by FIFA to deal with global strategies for football and its political, economic and social status. Wilkinson will be working alongside representatives from around the world to develop strategies that benefit the global game. Other women’s footballers (retired and active) on the committee include Pia Sundhage and Marta.
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 Ticket Sales and Official Draw
Venue pack tickets for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 are now on sale. Purchasers of venue packs will receive price discounts of up to 20 per cent over prices of individual match tickets.
Venue packs will only be available during the first two phases of ticket sales (leading up to and beyond the Official Draw in March). Once individual tickets go on sale, venue packs will no longer be available for purchase.
Of note, purchased venue packs in host cities that will also be part of the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ will give purchasers an opt-in opportunity to be placed on a priority list for venue packs to the 2015 competition in the same official host city.
As of 1 March 2014, fans will know in which cities teams will participate for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 group stage. The competition’s Official Draw for all 16 teams will take place on 1 March in Montréal at the historic Le Windsor Hotel.
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2014 media accreditation
FIFA is pleased to announce that the media accreditation process for media representatives wishing to cover the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2014 (15 March – 4 April 2014) is now open via the FIFA Media Channel. The deadline for accreditation applications is Monday 17 February 2014.
Please ensure you complete the following two steps if you wish to request an accreditation:
1. FIFA Media Channel account: http://media.FIFA.com.
Media representatives who do not have an approved FIFA Media Channel account should click on https://extranet.fifa.com/common/Self-Registration/Self-Registration-Welcome/?siteid=1. Approval to access the FIFA Media Channel does not mean you have been granted accreditation.
2. Submit accreditation form:
Please complete the media accreditation form on the FIFA Media Channel.
All applications are subject to confirmation. Confirmation will NOT be on a first-come, first-served basis. Successful applicants will be notified and provided with further information in due course. Furthermore, please be advised that international applicants are responsible for arranging their own visas. Media accreditation via the FIFA Media Channel is only for written press, photographers and Non-Rights Holders (NRHs, media entities that have not acquired the rights for the broadcast coverage of the event).
There is a separate accreditation process for FIFA Media Rights Licensees (MRLs) that is serviced by the FIFA Broadcaster Servicing Team. A specific MRL link for the online accreditation registration will be made available to the MRLs by the FIFA Broadcaster Servicing Team. For further queries, please contact FIFABroadcasterServicing@fifa.org.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.
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