FIFA Women’s World Cup Tour comes to Ottawa

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 Welcome Tour touched down in Canada’s capital on Friday 11 March in Ottawa, ON. Canadian Soccer Association president Dr. Dominic Maestracci as well as Canadian national head coach Carolina Morace welcomed the trophy and tour representatives, including Germany 2011 Organising Committee President Steffi Jones and FIFA Marketing Officer Daniela Banz.



Also in attendance were Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s wife Laureen, Minister for Sport Honourable Gary Lunn, German Ambassador to Canada Dr. Georg Witschel, and City of Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson. They were among the 150 guests invited by FIFA and the Organising Committee.



“Selling more than 60,000 tickets for the Opening Match in Berlin over 100 days before the World Cup starts is testament to the excitement surrounding the tournament,” said OC President Jones. “More important for us than any record attendances, though, is the fact that fans are flocking to all of the venues.”



The FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 runs this 26 June to 17 July in nine German cities. The opening match will be played at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium between Canada and host nation Germany. Canada’s other group opponents are France and Nigeria.



“Playing in the Opening Match against the World Cup holders in a sold-out Olympic Stadium in Berlin is the best thing that could have happened to us,” said Canada coach Carolina Morace. “My players can hardly wait for the kick-off on 26 June. It will be a unique test, but the pressure will be on the Germans.”



Jones and her troupe are visiting all 15 nations that qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011. Canada was the 10th stop on the tour, with five more countries still to be visited. Jones herself is a former international football star, having represented Germany at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1999 and 2003. She helped Germany lift the trophy in 2003.



FIFA and the Germany 2011 Organising Committee not only congratulated Canada on qualifying for this summer’s competition, but also for winning its bid to host the 2015 edition four years later. It was only last week that Canada was named host for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.



“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 in Germany will set new standards not only in terms of organisation but also as far as promoting women’s football around the world is concerned,” said Dr. Maestracci. “I look forward to continuing this success story in 2015.”



As part of the tour, Jones named former men’s national captain Jason de Vos as the “Super Fan” for Canada. Jones has named such a fan in each venue on the tour. De Vos was a CONCACAF champion with Canada in 2000, qualifying the national team for the FIFA Confederations Cup Japan/Korea 2001. He is now technical director at Oakville Soccer Club and also works as a television analyst.