9 January 2014
Qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2014 is set to move up a few gears over the next two and-a-half weeks, with no fewer than four confederations about to stage their final preliminary competitions.
This frenzy of qualifying action began Thursday in the Cayman Islands, where eight teams are competing in the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship. Upcoming are the decisive matches in Africa, Oceania and South America.
In total, seven places are up for grabs across the confederations, with hopefuls in all four regions aiming to join China PR, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany and hosts Canada in booking their place at the U-20 women’s showpiece.
READ MORE on FIFA.com/Canada2014
CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship kicks off in Cayman Islands
CONCACAF's final round of FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Canada 2014 Qualifiers are underway in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. The eight-team tournament runs 9-19 January 2014, with the two opening matches played on Thursday.
Guatemala and Jamaica drew 0:0 in the opening match while USA defeated Costa Rica. The other group - featuring Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Cayman Islands and Mexico - will kick off on Friday 10 January.
Each team will play their three group opponents from 9-14 January before the top-two teams from each group advance to the semi-final phase. The two semi-final winners on 17 January will qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Canada 2014, as will the winner of the match for third place two days later on 19 January.
Star trio vie for women’s award
With a 35-year-old, a 33-year-old and a five-time winner in the running this year, the FIFA's Women's Player of the Year award for 2013 is sure to be won by a true stalwart of the female game.
The nominees hail from three different continents, and bring very different talents to their respective sides. However, what Nadine Angerer, Marta and Abby Wambach all have in common is a lengthy history of sterling service to their clubs, national teams and the sport as a whole.
With FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala drawing ever closer, FIFA.com takes a closer look at this all-star trio vying for women’s football’s top individual honour.
The FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala takes place Monday 13 January 2014.READ MORE on FIFA.com/ballondor
National Women’s Soccer League announces protected and unprotected players ahead of 2014 expansion draft
The National Women’s Soccer League announced the official list of protected and unprotected players ahead of the 2014 Expansion Draft on Friday 10 January. The Houston Dash will become the ninth club to join the NWSL when they begin play this season. They will be able to select up to 10 players in the Expansion Draft, though no club can lose more than two players. The results of the Expansion Draft will be announced starting at 11.00 ET / 8.00 PT on Friday.
Each current NWSL club has had the opportunity to protect nine (playoff teams) or ten (non-playoff teams) players from their 2014 roster. Any club with more than two USA allocated players must leave at least one unprotected. The Dash will be allowed to select no more than two American allocated players, one Canadian allocated player and one Mexican allocated player.
READ MORE on CANADASOCCER.com
By the numbers: women's international matches 2013
In 2013, there were 376 women's international "A" matches played by 97 national teams, including FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers, the European Women's Championship, the Algarve Women's Cup, the Cyprus Women's Cup, the Central American Games, plus other international tournaments and friendly matches. The matches were played in 75 different countries.
The FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ Qualifiers made up more than one quarter of that schedule. Of the 376 matches, 107 of them were qualification matches played by 62 national teams. The FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ Qualifiers were played in 44 different countries in 2013. In those 44 countries (Europe and Asia), the matches were played in 67 different cities.Of note, eight countries made their-ever appearance in FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in 2013: Albania, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Faroe Islands, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg and Montenegro.
The 120 international friendly matches were played by 69 different national teams. The matches were played in 50 different countries including Canada, which hosted games in Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver. The three matches in Canada attracted 56,416 spectators for a Canadian record average of 18,805 per game.
In 2013, Germany and Norway (finalists at the UEFA Women's Euro 2013) played the most international matches (20), followed by Denmark (18), Scotland (18), Canada (17) and France (17).
FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ Qualifiers continue in February
FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ Qualifiers will continue in February 2014 with group matches in Europe and the opening round knock-out series in Africa. Sixteen teams in Europe will play matches on 12-13 February while 22 teams in Africa will open Qualifiers from 13-15 February.
In Europe, there are 42 teams competing in the group stage from September 2013 to September 2014. The teams are divided into seven groups, with each of the group winners to earn a berth in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™. The next four-best teams will advance to a playoff to fight for an eighth and final Canada 2015 spot earmarked for Europe.
In Africa, there are 26 teams competing in FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ Qualifiers, with 22 of those teams in the opening two-leg round that will be played from mid February to early March. For the 11 head-to-head series in this first round, the first leg will be played from 13-15 February while the second leg will be played from 28 February to 2 March.
Of note, five countries will be making their first-ever appearances in FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Qualifiers: Burkina Faso, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda and South Sudan.
The 11 first-round winners will then join three other teams in the seven second-round series in May and June 2014. The seven second-round winners will then join host Namibia at the ninth African Women’s Championship in October. The top-three finishers in October will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™.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.
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 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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View all releases| Gavin Day |
| National Teams Media Officer gday@canadasoccer.com |
| Ignacio Estefanell |
| Communications Coordinator iestefanell@canadasoccer.com o. 613-237-7678 ext. 2230 |
| Michèle Dion |
| Acting Director, Communications mdion@canadasoccer.com o. 613-237-7678 ext. 2226 m. 613-857-0827 |
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Marie Soleil Beaudoin, of Guelph, Ontario was recently nominated by the CSA, after becoming a national referee just last year, and received official word last week.
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