Canada has 2015 Women's World Cup

The Canadian Soccer Association has been awarded the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and Winnipeg is among the seven cities being considered as a host for games.

The 2015 Women's World Cup will include 24 teams, up from the current 16, and expand to 52 matches from 32.

Germany will host this year's event from June 26 to July 17.

In addition to Winnipeg, bids to host 2015 games were submitted from Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Moncton.

Richard Scott, communications director with the CSA, said all seven cities involved in the process will be considered as host sites for games and it has not yet been determined how many will host games. He noted Germany, which is hosting this year's event with 16 teams, has nine cities hosting matches.

Manitoba Soccer Association executive director Hector Vergara said it was a "fantastic day" for soccer in Canada to have such a major event played here.

"I personally have a very high level of confidence that Winnipeg is ready for this and that we will be able to host. We know that we are not the host, the CSA is the host and we are just one of the venues that are hoping to host games."

Vergara said Winnipeg's bid to host games includes the new football stadium as the venue. The stadium is slated to open in July 2012.

"In order for a city to go forward with a bid you have to have the possibility or in place a stadium that can hold at least 20,000 permanent seats," Vergara said. "There's no doubt that this stadium is going up. There's no issue, only confidence, on our part that stadium will be up and running and operational for three years before this event comes to Canada."

The new stadium's proposed artificial turf is not an issue, Vergara said.

"For the Women's World Cup, FIFA will allow two-star synthetic grass fields," he said. "It's exactly the same type of surface that we have at the Winnipeg Soccer Complex now. For the senior men's (World Cup), it's a requirement that it has to be natural grass."

Vergara said he heard earlier this week Zimbabwe, the only other country which had bid to host the 2015 event, had pulled out.

FIFA representatives will begin site inspections this fall. Vergara said that will include the stadium construction site at the University of Manitoba, the airport, transportation routes, accommodations and restaurants.

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger said he was "delighted" Canada was chosen to host the event, after losing out to Germany for this year's edition.

"It's now going to be up to Winnipeg to show Canada and the rest of the world that we deserve to play host to the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup and we have no doubt that we can accomplish that goal," he said in a statement.

Mayor Sam Katz said he was "excited" about Winnipeg being a potential host.

"It would be a great opportunity to welcome the soccer community from around the world to the heart of the continent," Katz said in a release.

With the expansion to 24 countries in 2015, the Women's World Cup will be the same size as the FIFA men's U-20 tournament, which Canada hosted in 2007.

Along with its selection to host the 2015 event, Canada was named as host for the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Awarding both events to the same host nation is a new FIFA practice.

The Government of Canada, through Sport Canada's Hosting Program, has committed about $15 million in funding to assist in the operation costs of the two events.

Canada's national women's soccer team is ranked ninth in the world.

-- The Canadian Press, with files from Ashley Prest

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 4, 2011 C2