Canadian Soccer Association to Visit Seven Candidate Bid Cities

On the heels of being awarded the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™ and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2014 on 3 March, the Canadian Soccer Association began the next stage in hosting the competition with its first Candidate Bid City site visit in Vancouver on 28 and 29 March.



“We were very pleased with the first Candidate Bid City site visit and all the work that the partners in Vancouver organized,” said Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli.



The Candidate Bid City site visits will provide the Canadian Soccer Association the opportunity to visit each of the cities that are part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™ bid process. It will provide the cities with the opportunity to showcase the main stadium, training sites, and ancillary venues.



The visits will also provide the Canadian Soccer Association with the opportunity to meet with municipal and provincial officials. These meetings allow all parties to discuss the benefits of hosting these competitions, the legacies and the impact these competitions will provide soccer across the country.



As part of the site visits, the Canadian Soccer Association will provide guidance so that Candidate Bid Cities can meet FIFA expectations and have the opportunity to become Official Host Cities for either one or both of the competitions. Following the Candidate Bid City site visits, Canadian Soccer Association representatives will attend the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011™ as part of an observer program. In the fall of 2011, FIFA will conduct official site visits for all Candidate Bid Cities to ensure that they meet FIFA standards.



In Vancouver, the Canadian Soccer Association delegates had the opportunity to visit BC Place Stadium, Vancouver Convention Centre, and proposed training sites.



“The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015™ is already building momentum,” said Montopoli. “We hope that the strong support demonstrated by the participating organizations and government partners will continue across the country when we visit the remaining Candidate Bid Cities.



Following this week’s visit to Vancouver, the Canadian Soccer Association will visit both Halifax (4-5 April) and Montréal (6-7 April) in the coming week. The Association will continue visits in the east heading to Moncton (11-12 April) and Ottawa (14-15 April) before traveling west to Winnipeg (18-19 April) and concluding in Edmonton (28-29 April).