2015 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP HOST CITIES
andnbsp; The Hon. Bal Gosal, Minister of State and#40;Sportand#41; and Joseph Blatter, FIFA President. Photo by the Canadian Soccer Association The six 2015 FIFA Womenandrsquo;s World Cup Canada official host cities were announced May 4th, including Edmonton, AB and#40;Commonwealth Stadiumand#41;; Moncton, NB and#40;Stade Moncton 2010and#41;; Montreal, QC and#40;Saputo Stadiumand#41;; Ottawa, ON and#40;Frank Clair Stadiumand#41;; Vancouver, BC and#40;BC Placeand#41; and Winnipeg, MB and#40;Investors Group Fieldand#41;. The inaugural WWC in China 1991 featured 12 teams. After expanding to 16 teams and 32 matches for USA 1999, Canada will be first to host 24 teams in a 52 match schedule. FIFA President Sepp Blatter spoke at the press conference in Parliament Hill and boasted that the 2015 WWC will be the andldquo;biggest international event for Canada, even [compared] to the Olympics.andrdquo; Seven cities were included in the initial bid process, but Halifax opted out in March due to funding issues related to buil [Read More]published May 5, 2012 at 10:54pm EDT
A FOOTBALL FRIENDLY HIJAB MAY GIVE MUSLIM WOMEN A SPORTING CHANCE WITH FIFA
[Read More]published April 23, 2012 at 12:09pm EDT
2011-12 UEFA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL PT. 1: CHANGING OF THE GUARD
andnbsp; Olympique Lyonnais probably didnandrsquo;t need any help from Mother Nature in its bid to reach a third straight UEFA Womenandrsquo;s Champions League final. Still, it didnandrsquo;t hurt. Lyon on Sunday collected a comprehensive 5-1 win over Turbine Potsdam at the famed Stade de Gerland. Lyonandrsquo;s tournament rivals were simply swept away in the ensuing deluge. Patrice Lairandrsquo;s scintillating side handed Turbine Potsdam its heaviest defeat in tournament history. Lyon were utterly unstoppable on the night. The German powerhouses stumbled through a hellish opening 21 minutes and never recovered. Amandine Henryandrsquo;s stunning sixth minute strike and#40;.GIFand#41; sailed past Alyssa Naeher and set the tone for the rest of the match. A picture-perfect Camille Abily free-kick and trademark Lotta Schelin strike followed soon after. The rain-soaked pitch contributed to Turbine Potsdamandrsquo;s concession of the battle in midfield. The sudden three-goal deficit saw them lose the battle [Read More]published April 16, 2012 at 8:20am EDT
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL INSTRUCTORS SEMINAR IN ZURICH
I was invited to the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, for the Womenandrsquo;s Football Instructors Seminar, from March 20-23, 2012. My work with FIFA is generally focused on Marketing and Communications for Com-Unity Seminars, so Iandrsquo;m not really sure how to express my gratitude for this incredible opportunity to come be a part of what Iandrsquo;d call, andldquo;coaches week,andrdquo; in Zurich. During this time, a small group of us worked on the structure and organization of the Com-Unity Seminars, while the larger group of participants discussed curriculum and tactics for FIFAandrsquo;s coaching courses. The cross-over between programs was crucial, as I collected a ton of feedback from instructors on the successes and challenges regarding seminars/courses theyandrsquo;ve been a part of. I learned about ways I can better support coaches who work Com-Unity Seminars with me. And importantly, we were all able to meet face-to-face. I believe we counted that 19 of the seminar participa [Read More]published March 23, 2012 at 7:25pm EDT
US DOWNS SWEDEN, 4-0, FOR THIRD PLACE AT ALGARVE CUP
andnbsp; The US players following the match: roster players rest, reserves play The third place match brought me back to the aptly name Beautiful View and#40;Bela Vistaand#41; Stadium in Parchal. Originally scheduled for 10:15, I realized that it probably wasnandrsquo;t going to start then when I arrived at 9:50, and the US players were just getting off their bus. The revised start time was 11 am, which gave me plenty of time to configure my wifi connection. Unfortunately, it wasnandrsquo;t enough, and the connection remained flakey throughout the match, finally conking out for good about halfway through the second half. It was particularly annoying because whenever I lost the connection, I had to log back in from scratch, a process that generally took about five minutes even when it worked the first time, which was seldom. and#40;Apologies to my Twitter followers who have heard this rant already.and#41; This also means that my focus was more on keeping the wifi working than on the match, so y [Read More]published March 7, 2012 at 5:47pm EST
FIFA TO VOTE ON LIFTING HIJAB BAN, PRINCE ALI SAYS SCARF POSES NO DANGER
By Mary ORMSBYAustralian-Egyptian soccer player Assmaah Helal wears a Muslim head cover, or hijab, during a training session in Sydney. Elite footballer Assmaah Helal is a fanatic for the world game, but a controversial FIFA ban on Muslim women playing in the hijab means she may never realise her dream of wearing the Australian jersey.TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP/GETTY IMAGESMary OrmsbyFeature WriterSprained ankles. Pulled hamstrings. Bloodied knees.The 350 girls in the Islamic Soccer League are not afraid of a little rough stuff on Torontoandrsquo;s east-end pitches, logging trophy wounds and earning bragging rights playing the game they love.But not one girl has been on the DL because of hijab injury andndash; despite insistence by FIFA, soccerandrsquo;s international governing body, that headscarves are a danger to Islamic women who want to bend it like Beckham.andldquo;Weandrsquo;ve never had an incident where hijab was an issue,andrdquo; says Majied Ali, president of the 1,600-member ISL, whose fema [Read More]published March 3, 2012 at 11:55am EST
THE POLITICS OF FIFA AND THE HIJAB
By Curtis R. RyanFIFA, the international federation for world soccer, is poised to make a decision in a few days that will impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of young Muslim women -- whether or not to overturn the current ban on the hijab, or headscarf. Matters actually came to a head last summer, in June 2011, when the entire Iranian women's soccer team was prevented from playing in Olympic qualifying matches held in Jordan. The ouster of an entire national team, minutes before a key international match, led to a resurgent global debate on the relations between the hijab, sports, and international politics. Today, however, the winds of change seem to be blowing back in the other direction, as activists, athletes, and allies -- Muslim and non-Muslim -- appear to have met every FIFA objection and will arrive at the March 3 London meeting of the International Football Association Board and#40;IFABand#41; with a proposal to lift the ban and allow thousands of women an opportunity that [Read More]published March 2, 2012 at 11:36am EST
ADVENTURE IN THE ALGARVE: AN INTRODUCTION
andnbsp; A familiar name from the WoSo blogosphere is currently on the ground in Portugal. He has graciously offered to send us his impressions of the 2012 Algarve Cup. So who is he exactly, and what kind of cosmic forces converged enabling this marvelous adventure? Weandrsquo;ll let him do the explaining. andnbsp; Dateline: Faro, Algarve, Portugal Okay, I canandrsquo;t quite write that legitimately yet, but just give me another few hours. Meanwhile, let me introduce myself. andnbsp; Hi, my name is StarCityFan, and I watch womenandrsquo;s soccer My real name is Kevin W. Parker, but my nom de Internet is andldquo;StarCityFan,andrdquo; which you may have seen in the comments here and elsewhere, and especially over at BigSoccer. My interest in womenandrsquo;s soccer, like that of a lot of peopleandrsquo;s, was sparked by the 1999 Womenandrsquo;s World Cup. I didnandrsquo;t really get into it though until I received an offer for season tickets from the WUSA-era Washington Freedom. Figuring that this was t [Read More]published February 28, 2012 at 1:26pm EST
THIS WEEK IN WOMEN'S SOCCER, EPISODE 5, WITH JEFF KASSOUF, JULIE FOUDY AND ALI RILEY
[Read More]published February 22, 2012 at 11:54am EST