Here is the scoop on the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 for you to be in the loop during the exciting women’s soccer world championship tournament! I am Canadian and so proud that our country is hosting the event this year, which will take place from June 6 to July 5. The right to host the event this year was won by Canada back in 2011.
FIFA Women’s World Cup Competition Format
There are 24 finalists (teams), who were officially drawn into six groups back on December 6 of 2014 at the Canadian Museum of History, located in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Each of the six groups holds four teams, composed of the remainder of the 23 pre-qualified teams who were able to finish first and second in each group. The four best teams who ranked third qualified for the “round of 16.”
The Round of 16 occurs, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, third-place face-off, and then (drumroll please) the final! The number of qualifying matches is 398 for the 128 total teams, from start to finish in the event.
Who are the 24 Finalists FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015?
The 24 finalists are divided into six zones:
- Host & North, Central American and Caribbean Zone (3 teams plus the host) – Canada (Host), USA, Costa Rica, and Mexico
- Asian Zone (5 teams) – Japan, China PR, Thailand, Korean Republic, and Australia
- African Zone (3 teams) – Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Cameroon
- South American Zone (3 teams) – Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador
- European Zone (8 teams) – Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, France, England, and Germany
- Oceanian Zone (1 team) – New Zealand
Timeline of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Matches
The women’s soccer matches are taking place across Canada; the closest location to where I live is Vancouver, BC. The tournaments there will be at BC Place Stadium. There are also matches set to take place in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Moncton, and Montreal.
The first stage of matches takes place from June 6-17, 2015. The Round of 16 then follows from June 20-23. Next is the Quarter-final on June 26 and 27, and the Semi-final on June 30 and July 1. Then, the Match for Third Place is July 4. The Final for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 is expected to take place on July 5. Mark your calendars!
As an interesting note, this is the third time the FIFA women’s Finals have taken place in Canada. The last time was the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (2014). Before that, it was the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup. The all-time ranking for Canada for the FIFA Women’s World Cup is 9th.
Women continue to break stereotypes in sports, from soccer to tennis, basketball, and more!
Awards for the FIFA Women’s World Cup
There are a few awards, of course! The FIFA fair play trophy goes to every player and official of the team that finishes first in the fair play contest (separate rules). This metal is accompanied by a diploma and $10,000 USD worth of football supplies that is designed to go toward women’s youth soccer development.
The Adidas Golden Ball goes to the best player in the Finals, based on the overall ranking by the FIFA Technical Study Group. There are also Silver and Bronze balls for the second and third place individuals in the women’s soccer event.
The Adidas Golden Boot is an award for the player scoring the most goals in the Finals. In addition, there is the Adidas Golden Glove, which goes to the best goalkeeper in the Finals. As with the Adidas Golden Ball, it is the FIFA Technical Study Group that makes the decisions on who wins which award in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
There is also – very cool! – a Young Player Award that goes to the best young player in the competition.
More about the Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament
If you are in Canada, the tournament will air on the CTV and TSN television networks. In the US, it will be on TV and radio via Fox Sports and Telemundo (owned by NBC).
Oh, and the mascot for FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015! It is a female great white owl named Shuéme.
Will you be watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 on TV or in person this year? The countdown is on!
©2015 Christy Birmingham
Women’s Sports always inspire me. I’m not athletic at all, but I love to watch women play sports…basketball, hockey, baseball, soccer…it’s all good!
Yayyy! I’m shaking my head in agreement :)
It’s great that you’re putting the spotlight on women’s football Christy :-)
Thanks, Andrea! Soccer/football and women go well together :)
Great to see Australia in the running. I used to play soccer in the sixties here, was The goalkeeper – team were far and few in between but hey isn’t it just fabulous how today things have progressed :)
That’s very cool that you were the goalkeeper, Ina! It really is great to see women getting the spotlight here, I agree. I hope you have a wonderful weekend :)
What happened to the argentine gals… Hmmmm …. Well, we have the male team I guess… the boys are good… :roll:
Great to know that Canada will he the hoster!!!!…. by the way, I love the mascot.
Best wishes to you dear Chris! Aquileana :D
I checked and it looks like Argentina did not qualify high enough in the 2014 Copa America Femenina, which was the qualifying tournament. I hope they get to one day play with the Canadian team – that would be fantastic!
Awww yes I like the mascot too :) Hugs and thank you for enjoying the post here! xo
Spain is going to win, I´m sorry but that prediction has to be right.
Hehe you are a proud one, that you are! I am all for Canada. We will see what happens!
Let´s bet then
I don’t play soccer or football myself, but so excited for this month-long event. It’s a great event on a grandscale that truly appreciates women in sports and women sportsmanship. Correct me if I’m wrong, good to see the rules of the game are pretty much the same as the men’s game. Not sure if this will be shown on Australia TV networks, they might on cable.
Hi Mabel, I’m not sure if the championship will air in Australia but I hope it does as Australia is a team in it!
Thanks for the link Christy, very helpful. The Australian women dressed in green and gold colours, typical :D
It’s sad that there really hasn’t been any coverage of Australia’s team in this tournament in the mainstream news. Hopefully one day this will change.
Hi Mabel, I hope that the coverage in Australia will ramp up in May; perhaps as it is still a few months away, that is why there is little coverage there now? I’m glad you found the link helpful and appreciate the update to :)
In the middle of the year Australia’s football season is in full swing and dominates the news. But hopefully there will be more coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup closer to May. The public broadcasters should give it more coverage :)
Oh I see, thanks for explaining that to me, Mabel. I do wonder sometimes about women’s coverage on TV being less than men’s. It’s such an outdated way of thinking. I hope that changes in Australia (and many other places) soon!
I share your excitement, as soccer, whether played by women or men, is exciting. Hope Canada pulls in to the semi finals, at least…
Thank you for the support for my home team, Raj! AND thanks for your support for me by being here, my friend :)
Women’s World Cup soccer is equally exciting as men’s World Cup soccer, Christy. Great job in previewing your Canada’s turn to host the event that’s so significant to the world. We Americans are slowly catching up in appreciation of the game. We have a long way to go. Trying hard! <3
Thanks for appreciating my Canadian pride, Mark! Yes, it’s interesting, isn’t it, how different countries have their favorite sports? Hugs!
Hugs back, proud Canadian. <3
As an American, I am constitutionally forbidden about saying anything positive about soccer–but I’m a big women’s basketball fan, I raised my girls to whoop ass, and coached AAU girls hoops for years–I’d occasionally bring boys their age to practice against, but it was difficult to get the boys to come back after the hammering we put on them. It was awesome, best experience of my life, I liked to give my players t-shirts that said “You wish you hooped like a girl!”
Awesome! I can just imagine the girls wearing those t-shirts with pride :) Well done!
Men’s athletics always seem to take the spotlight on all media. I hope to get to watch some of the Women’s World Cup this year. One of the greatest things that have happened to women and girls as a whole is athletics. No longer are we being told it’s not ladylike to sweat!
Yes, it’s great to see the women getting the spotlight! Thanks for cheering for them all by commenting here :)
I will definitely be watching FIFA world for for women. My aunt in Holland and I always have a lot of fun keeping track of who’s in the lead between Canada and the Netherlands. Our own unofficial competition.
I enjoyed reading about your fun ‘unofficial’ competition, Lenie! It’s great you will be tuning in too :)
I always watch the FIFA world cup for men (and am so excited about the Euro one next year in France!) I never got the opportunity to watch women’s world cup, or any soccer match, because I don’t think they are ever shown on networks I have at home. I didn’t even know that France was one of the finalists!
Woohoo! Let’s kick the FIFA World Cup into gear and support the women :) Yes, France is in there – very neat! Thanks for coming by to support the event (and me), Natacha!