Please post all the 2007 WC related info in this thread from now on,
so there's no mess


DON'T FORGET TO TELL US WHO DID YOU VOTE FOR AND WHY!

Voted on my fellow swedes of course Why? Because I think we will have a very good mix of young and hungry players with some older experienced ladies. We only need a coach who can do the job it takes

Germany for me. I don't understand very much about women's football but they always win

Yes, and it's really f...ing boring now, my friend.

I hope they won't win AGAIN, thanx for voting though

I love Team Sweden just like I love Team England,
I voted England though cos they deserve a revenge for Euro 2005

I would love to see both teams in the WC final,
but I think they would kill each other

Once again England vs Sweden? Would be great since we will meet in the men's WC too

"I voted England though cos they deserve a revenge for Euro 2005 "
Yes you better cause no one else will

I voted France because I am French

I thought I'd vote "other", meaning Wales, as we are still actually in a tournament at this late stage

You vote for what you want mate, but Wales won't even qualify now
so how do you want them to win the 2007 WWC?

Can't Wales qualify?

Not to the 2007 WWC - no

As far as I know the winners of the first 5 qualifying groups go to the 2007 WWC.

The winners of groups 6-8 play against the losers of groups 1-5
and those who win, qualify to the 2011 WWC qualifying groups.

Does that make sense?

Twm start saving for 2011 !! I voted for England as i am English and wouldn't support any other team!!

at the risk of being hated for it, i voted for germany...hey im from germany, should be worng to support an other team right...??but ill keep fingers crossed for sweden and england too...as long as germany wins

I went for the USA , I think they'll win it back this time around with a mixture of youth and expierence
As long as Germany don't win again I'll be happy

I voted for Germany

I picked them because of their record, and their dominance in women's football at the moment. They are the team who I think can realistically win next year -- BUT, of course, the team I would actually really want to win is England

The Germany dominance will end soon - they're not getting any younger
and teams like England and Sweden have fantastic young players

COME ON ENGLAND !!!

Maybe it will last just a wee bit longer -- and then they can all retire and leave England & Sweden free to take over the world!

Seriously though I agree with you very much - when you look at someone like Steffi Jones, she has had many great years, but it can't really be much longer before she decided she wants to relax and stop playing. There are players ready to take her place - I forget the name, but there was one who played in defence in the Algarve Cup who I'd never seen before, and she was really good, but maybe the fact that such a big, established name would be missing, it could inspire more confidence for other teams to try to break through and score.

We have to qualify first, I think we will beat Holland. France will be difficult but i will be there supporting the girls in Rennes.

Come on England!


I am going to China fingers crossed.

I too plan on going to the game in Rennes. I think a lot of people will make the journey due to cheap flights, and the game being played on a Saturday. What better excuse for a weekend away.

Same as well I think I will watch this game and my local men's team nantes in the evening

Match ball for 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup unveiled

Berlin: The ball to be used during the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China
was unveiled here Thursday - Women's Football Day.

Adidas Brand President and CEO Erich Stamminger and FIFA President Joseph Blatter
handed over the ball to the Organising Committee General Secretary Nan Yong and Sun Wen,
Chinese football star and FIFA ambassador.

After accepting the ball, which will be retailed from 2007 onwards,
Sun kicked it up in front of the reporters.

Speaking at the ceremony, Blatter said
women's football has played an increasingly important role in different societies and cultures.

"Women's football means more than kicking a ball around," he added,
stressing that it has been conducive to promoting women's position in society,
especially in countries where their rights are not adequately respected.

The ball for the Women's World Cup has the same performance characteristics
as the Adidas Teamgeist being used at the ongoing World Cup.

The revolutionary 14-panel ball construction
brings down the number of three-panel touch points by 60 percent (from 60 to 24)
and the total length of the panel lines is reduced by over 15 percent (from 400.05 cm to 333.93 cm).

----------------------------------------

No pix though...

Some info from the FIFA site

FIFA Women's World Cup China PR 2007: one year to go

The fifth edition of the blue riband event of women's football - the FIFA Women's World Cup - will get underway in China in just 365 days time. Bringing together the leading lights of the women's game, sixteen teams will do battle for the game's ultimate prize in the tournament that kicks off on 10 September and concludes in Shanghai on 30 September 2007.
The preliminary competition is underway all around the world, with Asia ahead of all other continents in their qualification process. Apart from the host nation who have qualified automatically, the other teams to have already secured their ticket to China are Australia, who fell to China on penalties in the final of the 2006 AFC Women's Championship held on home soil, and Korea DPR, who finished third in the same event. Norway have also joined the list of qualified teams, even though the European preliminaries are still in full swing. Finally, Japan will play off against the third-placed team from the CONCACAF zone.

With twelve months to go until kick-off, the Chinese local organising committee (LOC), led by honorary president Mrs Chen Zhili (state councillor) and executive president Mr Liu Peng (minister of the general administration of Chinese sport), is currently finetuning its preparations. By drawing upon their immense experience in this area - having hosted the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup and having been due to organise the 2003 event before FIFA was left with no choice but to move the tournament to the USA due to the outbreak of SARS - the Chinese hosts are leaving no stone unturned as they strive to make sure that the flagship event of women's football is a celebration of the beautiful game. The LOC is investing heavily in every area, including stadiums, training grounds, accommodation, transport and ticketing.

FIFA's commercial partners are showing a similarly high level of commitment to the event, and without their support, technology, expertise, services, products and financial commitment, it would not be possible to hold the FIFA Women's World Cup. The six FIFA's Partners - adidas, Coca-Cola, Emirates Airline, Hyundai, Sony and Visa - are also providing FIFA and the LOC with the equipment needed to host a top-quality FIFA Women's World Cup. Their various contributions include among others the implementation of the youth programmes, the transportation services for teams and officials, sport equipment supply and soft drinks to the event delegation and volunteers as well as the vital IT infrastructure. FIFA has given Helios Partners the exclusive sales rights for the four national supporter contracts.

FIFA's audio-visual partners are also heavily involved in the competition. Due to the quality of the football on show, numerous companies have approached the world governing body to acquire the broadcasting rights for the event. As such, around 50 companies are already on board for the FIFA Women's World Cup China PR 2007, and that number is expected to increase as the tournament approaches.

The level of interest shown by FIFA's partners is a direct reflection of the increased interest in women's football in general. FIFA has played a crucial role in this development and continues to do so. World football's governing body has helped women's football to find the path of constant and sustained development by creating international competitions in numerous age categories, launching development programmes for women's football all around the world, ensuring that member associations invest funds from FIFA's Financial Assistance Programme in the women's game, organising courses for female players, coaches, doctors, referees and officials, and by encouraging some of the game's biggest stars to act as "ambassadors for women's football". Today, there are approximately 40 million female players around the world, a figure that speaks volumes about the game's progress.

The FIFA Women's World Cup China PR 2007 will surely show just how far the game has come. There are just 365 days to go. The clock is ticking.


FIFA Women's World Cup China PR 2007 - Facts and Figures

Dates:
10-30 September 2007

Venues:
Shanghai (Shanghai Hongkou Football Stadium)
Chengdu (Chengdu Sports Center Stadium)
Hangzhou (Zhejiang Dragon Stadium)
Tianjin (Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium)
Wuhan (Wuhan Sports Center Stadium)

Participating teams:
China PR (host nation)
AFC (Asian Football Confederation): 2.5 teams* (Australia and Korea DPR)
CAF (Confederation of African Football): 2 teams
CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football): 2.5*
CONMEBOL (Confederation of South American Football): 2 teams
OFC (Oceania Football Confederation): 1 team
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations): 5 teams (including Norway)

* The third-placed teams from AFC and CONCACAF will play-off (home and away matches), with the winner qualifying for the final competition.

Regarding the cities where the game will be played. In bracket the airport code if you look for a cheap flight.

Shanghai (PVG) easy access as direct flight from London

Tianjin (TSN) this city is about 80 miles from Beijing.
You can take a train but as I experienced it last time I went to China you really need someone who speaks the local lingo because in some area there is no way you will find someone speaking English.

Chengdu (CTU) is in the west side of China, far way from Beijing / Shanghai quickest way is using KLM via Amsterdam direct .958 Miles from BJS 1037 miles from PVG

Hanghzou (HGH) 99 miles south of Shanghai. You can use either train via PVG or planes via BJS.

Wuhan (WUH) 433 miles of Shanghai south east of China an area in full economic expansion.
There are some connexion via BJS or SZX ( Shenzen). if you use SZX why not take spend a few days in Hong-kong at the same time ?

I know this because I used to work for a chinese airline. Be careful some internal chinese airline have the worse security record for plane accidents.

nice bit of info to know about