Canada bidding for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015

[tovan1]

http://canadasoccer.com/news/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=4571

25 November 2010

Canada bidding for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015

The Canadian Soccer Association is bidding to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™. On the heels of hosting a record-breaking FIFA tournament in 2007, Canada wants to invite the world back for the premier women’s football event in 2015.

'We are proud that the largest participation sport in this country for girls and women is soccer,' said Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli. 'Hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 provides exceptional opportunity for the hundreds of thousands of female soccer players in Canada to be inspired by the world’s best players and to support the national team as they represent their country on the international stage on home soil.'

Canada is one of several countries currently preparing its Bid Book to present to FIFA by 11 February 2011. In September, countries formally expressed their intent to FIFA to host the tournament and subsequently were provided the official bid guidelines. As part of the timeline, the Canadian Soccer Association has officially confirmed its bid intentions before the 26 November 2010 deadline.

Over the last two weeks, the Association has welcomed 40 participants to two Bid Information Sessions. The sessions were hosted in Ottawa, ON on 18 November and in Vancouver, BC on 24 November 2010. The session provided information to potential host cities for Canada’s bid related to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™ which also includes the hosting of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2014.

The sessions were organized to ensure that all interested parties are aware of their particular requirements to host these events. The Canadian Soccer Association is working closely with the federal, provincial and municipal governments to provide necessary information to ensure a successful bid is forwarded to FIFA.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ is hosted every four years, with the next event scheduled for 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany. For 2015, the event will expand from 16 to 24 participating countries and from 32 to 52 matches.

The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is hosted every two years. As it is the new practice, every second tournament is hosted by the FIFA Women’s World Cup host nation, so both the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup are awarded together to the same nation. The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Germany 2010 ran 13 July to 1 August.

Canada has a strong history of hosting FIFA events, starting with the FIFA U-17 World Cup Canada 1987 which coincided with the Association’s 75th anniversary. Canada has since hosted the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2002 (inaugural event) and the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007.

In 2007, Canada hosted a record-setting FIFA U-20 World Cup, attracting close to 1.2-million spectators to the 52 matches and generating an estimated $259 million in economic activity. It delivered an excellent return for the government at the federal, provincial and municipal levels, supporting more than $43-million in taxes at those three levels.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007 was also the catalyst for building BMO Field, the National Soccer Stadium in Toronto. In turn, BMO Field helped return professional soccer to Toronto with the Canadian expansion to Major League Soccer.

In Canada, roughly 43% of all registered players are women, twice as much as it was eight years ago when Canada hosted the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2002. Canada has also enjoyed success on the international stage, winning CONCACAF championships in all three age categories since 2008. Those three titles were the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifier, the 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, and the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship.

Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and presenting sponsor is Teck, recently qualified for its fifth consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup. With six-straight wins dating back to the 30 September home Women’s International Friendly match in Toronto, Canada is now the ninth-ranked country on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Rankings.

[Macksam]

A great opportunity for cities like Quebec City, Edmonton, London and Halifax to get stadiums.

[Sam]

No surprise and with Germany out of the way this time around I'd be surprised if we didn't get it

[Tuscan]

It saddens me that Regina has had to pull out of the running (hmm, Regina and pull out in the same sentence, dirty), as the criteria for the stadia apparently was too much for the new stadium being planned for the Riders. I call bull**** and believe in a conspiracy theory that it's all the keep soccer down in Ridernation, but perhaps the criteria are quite stringent?

[Richard]

A great opportunity for cities like Quebec City, Edmonton, London and Halifax to get stadiums.

We already have Saputo Stadium, BMO Field, Empire Stadium and BC Place plus possibly stadiums in Hamilton and Ottawa plus secondary facilities such as Swangard in Burnaby (with bleachers added). How many more do we need to host the WC than were necessary for the men's U-20 WC?

[terpfan68]

What cities have expressed interest in hosting and what cities are included in the Canadian bid? Won't there be 24 teams for the 2015 World Cup?

Winnipeg's new stadium should be ready by June of 2015.

[RS]

We already have Saputo Stadium, BMO Field, Empire Stadium and BC Place plus possibly stadiums in Hamilton and Ottawa plus secondary facilities such as Swangard in Burnaby (with bleachers added). How many more do we need to host the WC than were necessary for the men's U-20 WC?

Empire will be long gone by then.

Hamilton's new football/soccer stadium will have been built (as you mentioned), as will Winnipeg's. Also, Squizz will go postal if someone didn't mention Moncton as a possible site.

Edmonton will be in the mix as always. The three MLS stadia are no-brainers, as unfortunate as it may be for those three clubs.

[Richard]

"Empire will be long gone by then."

I meant Commonwealth Stadium, sorry about that. My point is that I don't see the 2015 WC doing much to stimulate yet more soccer stadiums in Canada.

[Razcle]

"Empire will be long gone by then."

I meant Commonwealth Stadium, sorry about that. My point is that I don't see the 2015 WC doing much to stimulate yet more soccer stadiums in Canada.

I have to disagree with you. If there is a city that is willing to pull a BMO field in Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Ottawa, Quebec City and combine it with a second division new franchise, we could see another SS stadium for this tourney. But it does have to be a package deal with owners lining up to use the field once the tourney is complete.

[Macksam]

"Empire will be long gone by then."

I meant Commonwealth Stadium, sorry about that. My point is that I don't see the 2015 WC doing much to stimulate yet more soccer stadiums in Canada.

Commonwealth is artificial turf now. I don't think we'll be seeing it used for a lot of soccer anymore.

[Viruk42]

and Ottawa

Wouldn't surprise me if Ottawa's not ready by then. It's facing a ton of opposition because it's an absolutely ridiculous plan that makes very little sense logistically, and they're trying to move a heritage building. I wish they would renovate the useless baseball stadium into a small SSS, but that seems far too logical for Ottawa city council.

[tovan1]

"Empire will be long gone by then."

I meant Commonwealth Stadium, sorry about that. My point is that I don't see the 2015 WC doing much to stimulate yet more soccer stadiums in Canada.

I agree with Razcle, it provides the best opportunity we'll EVER have to improve the existing infrastructure in this country, don't think we'll be getting the Mens WC anytime soon. We have a great chance to get something out of this even if it is as little as 1 mid-sized stadium or improvements to existing stadia. It is still an improvement and can only benefit. Just because you can put up bleachers for 2-3 weeks doesn't make a stadium better or professional quality. It's like putting lipstick on a pig. The more you can improve the optics by improving facilities, making a stadium and subsequently a team appear more professional, the more interest you will be able to draw.

When else are we ever going to see this much attention and investment in the sport in Canada? Never. The more I think about it, the more it appears the CSA has some sort of plan. Bidding to host the WWC, the moratorium on D2/D3 teams, exploring the possibility of starting a domestic league, etc. It is risky and it all has to work together, but if it succeeds we could have something here. Maintaining the status quo and being content with what we have right now is counter-productive. It gets us nowhere but where we already are. Obviously things haven't been working for the last 20 years. It's time to find a way to fix it all.

[ray]

Wikipedia says so far we're up against Chile to host in 2015. Do either or both of Canada and Chile have the official backing of their continental federations?

[Tuscan]

Apparently Canada is unopposed within CONCACAF and Chile is unopposed within CONMEBOL.

[Macksam]

Wouldn't surprise me if Ottawa's not ready by then. It's facing a ton of opposition because it's an absolutely ridiculous plan that makes very little sense logistically, and they're trying to move a heritage building. I wish they would renovate the useless baseball stadium into a small SSS, but that seems far too logical for Ottawa city council.

Cool, revisit the Melnyk plan.

Also, aren't we also going to host the U20 Women's World Cup? That's when the 10,000 seater stadiums could get built.

[Trillium]

Apparently Canada is unopposed within CONCACAF and Chile is unopposed within CONMEBOL.

If you think Canada has a chance to have this tournament.. simply go look at

http://www.worldstadiums.com/south_america/countries/chile.shtml

look at the stadia already in place and then tell me we can offer anything to match ?

[Macksam]

We can't build three 20,000 seat stadiums?

I say 20,000 becasue you need 6 20,000(min) seater stadiums to host. They have some really nice 18,000 and 12,000 ones, and I'm sure they can expand them, but we can also build our own.

[jpg75]

Yes, i see it now, 65,000 Chileans packing the Estadio Nacional paying $100 a pop to watch Norway-Sweden in the final. As if Chile would be able to make anywhere near the same amount of revenue a WWC in Canada would. Those stadiums would be half empty for 3/4's of the games.

[Cheeta]

^ I think 3/4s empty is being generous.

I don't think the WWC would exactly be a huge draw in Canada either (outside of say Canada & the USA groups) but I'm pretty certain the tourney would be far, far more "main stream" in Canada than in a heck of a lot of other places in the world. Proximity, ease of travel for the US (and European) fans, and shared time zones with the US television market helps a whole bunch too.

As Macksam mentioned we only really need to 3 additional venues to compliment the MLS stadiums to meet FIFA criteria. If FieldTurf is allowed for the event we're sitting pretty. If not, there are venues enough throughout Canada which can be retro-fitted with natural grass for a couple of months to make this work. Stadium logistics are not an issue.

I like this idea. Would be a wonderful follow up to our surprisingly successful run in the Group of Death in Brazil '14.

[Admin]

I can't see the senior WWC being played on turf.

[finchster]

For the WWC we can always put grass in temporarily, I don't think the stadiums are a problem.

BC Place, Vancouver – 60,000

New Bombers Stadium, Winnipeg – 33,000 (I think they are working on it now?)

BMO field, Toronto – 22,000

Saputo Stadium, Montreal – whatever it will be when they join MLS

Those four stadiums should be good enough and modern, a good fit for the WWC. Also isn't there stadium plans for Landsdowne and Hamilton (I don't know the progress of those stadiums). At worst we would have to build two stadiums, at best we might not have to build any.

I would prefer to build two new SS stadiums, perhaps one in Edmonton and one in Atlantic Canada?

[Alex D]

What are the stadium requirements for the WWC?

[Trillium]

We can't build three 20,000 seat stadiums?

I say 20,000 becasue you need 6 20,000(min) seater stadiums to host. They have some really nice 18,000 and 12,000 ones, and I'm sure they can expand them, but we can also build our own.

Tell me the cities in Canada who can between 2011 and 2014 that is three years get zoning approval, fund and build a stadium, remembering the Feds have said no money to Quebec city new colisse and to Edmonton for 150 anniversary events.

And remember we need SS stadia no track ....no field turf, just real grass ready for the U20 dry run tournament and ready the next year for WWC.

I just dont see the city's who have the will and leadership to step up and do it, then have a long term use for the stadia that is soccer specific.

[Trillium]

Yes, i see it now, 65,000 Chileans packing the Estadio Nacional paying $100 a pop to watch Norway-Sweden in the final. As if Chile would be able to make anywhere near the same amount of revenue a WWC in Canada would. Those stadiums would be half empty for 3/4's of the games.

So you feel at one hundred dollars a pop .. Vancover will draw 60k to a women's world cup final between Norway and Sweden?

If you said Canada vs China ... i might concede the point, but not to nordic countries.

Chiles annual average income is 14,900, Canadas is 39,400 ... but Chile has relativley more "wealthy" versus poor then Canada .... that is there is significant economic disparity in Chile less so in Canada... and that lends itself to the elite buying one hundred dollar tickets for an event.... in Chile, for Canadians the casual fan will balk at a price of 100 for mom and another 100 for the daughter..

My gut tells me to draw big audiences in Canada the price point needs to be under an average of 25.00 a game that represents a 500k gate at a 20k stadia.

I suspect Chile can get very very close to matching that or exceeding it in terms of ticket sales and when sponsorships are added in .... Chile will have more revenue stream from National and south american firms then Canada could deliver domestically.

Plus...who will support Canada in the vote ?

Africa not likely we are pulling out of there and the CSA will not be paying under the table bungs to the voters.... Oceania will support Chile, Comebol ... Chile... I suspect even the EU votes will go to Chile, leaving us only Concacaf, ....within Concacaf there will be support from Mexico south to go to Chile not to Canada.

[Viruk42]

So you feel at one hundred dollars a pop .. Vancover will draw 60k to a women's world cup final between Norway and Sweden?

If you said Canada vs China ... i might concede the point, but not to nordic countries.

Chiles annual average income is 14,900, Canadas is 39,400 ... but Chile has relativley more "wealthy" versus poor then Canada .... that is there is significant economic disparity in Chile less so in Canada... and that lends itself to the elite buying one hundred dollar tickets for an event.... in Chile, for Canadians the casual fan will balk at a price of 100 for mom and another 100 for the daughter..

My gut tells me to draw big audiences in Canada the price point needs to be under an average of 25.00 a game that represents a 500k gate at a 20k stadia.

I suspect Chile can get very very close to matching that or exceeding it in terms of ticket sales and when sponsorships are added in .... Chile will have more revenue stream from National and south american firms then Canada could deliver domestically.

I'm not sure you understand how economic disparity works. Just because there's a greater gap in Chile doesn't necessarily mean their rich have more money (or greater numbers) than our rich, considering our average income is also quite a bit higher. More importantly, if you've got a 65k stadium, you're not going to find 65k rich people to spend all their money to go. However, you might find 65k middle class soccer fans willing to spend to bring their children to a game.

Plus...who will support Canada in the vote ?

Africa not likely we are pulling out of there and the CSA will not be paying under the table bungs to the voters.... Oceania will support Chile, Comebol ... Chile... I suspect even the EU votes will go to Chile, leaving us only Concacaf, ....within Concacaf there will be support from Mexico south to go to Chile not to Canada.

That's going to happen for every case though, the federation will vote for their potential member-host. I don't know why you suggest Oceania would support Chile, though I guess it's closer for them? But we also don't know all the countries bidding - ex: there was talk of 2 EU countries bidding, and you suspect EU votes would go to Chile, but would they not go to fellow EU countries?