Category → FIFA

Host Cities for 2015 Women’s World Cup Announced by FIFA President

08 May, 08:14, by admin Tags: ,

Last Friday, FIFA President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter revealed the six Canadian cities that were chosen to host games during the 2015 Women’s World Cup in a ceremony held in Ottawa. Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver will host the 24 teams and 52 games of the World Cup championship, which has grown to be the biggest tournament in women’s sports.

“Women’s football is opening up and developing right across the world,” Blatter said at the press conference. “That’s the social and cultural value of our sport.”

Event organizers put a lot of thought into the city choices for the 22-day event. Their intent was to showcase the varied culture of the country while also representing it physically. Three of the cities (Moncton, Montreal and Ottawa) are from Eastern Canada, one is from the Midwest (Winnipeg) and two are from the Canadian West (Edmonton and Vancouver). Notably missing from this list is Toronto, which declined the opportunity to participate in the Women’s World Cup as it will be hosting the 2015 Pan American Games.

The first Women’s World Cup was held in China in 1991 and has been held every fourth year since its inception. The 2015 World Cup will be the seventh Women’s World Cup but Canada will only be the fifth country to host the tournament. China and the United States have both hosted the tournament twice.

For more updates on the 2015 Women’s World Cup, download the free SoccerInferno toolbar today.

Groups Drawn in Final Round of Asian Qualifying

09 March, 09:23, by admin Tags:

As the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil draws closer by the day, qualifying games are being played around the world. The 10 teams in the Asian-Pacific region learned today who they would have to play to secure one of the continent’s four automatic spots in the tournament. The 2011 Asian Cup finalists, Australia and Japan, were paired together in Group B along with Iraq, Jordan and Oman. Group A is made up of the teams from South Korea, Uzbekistan, Iran, Lebanon and Qatar. The top two teams in each group will get an automatic spot to the 2014 finals in Brazil, while the third-place teams in each group will play for a spot in the AFC-CONMEBOL play-off, where they will play against the fifth-place team in South American qualifying.

Present at the event were Windsor John, the Executive Director of Competitions of FAC and legendary players Mehdi Mahdaviki (Iran) and Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (Japan). The seeding for the draw was based on March’s FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking, with Australia leading the other Asian teams. The teams will play their matches over the course of a year, beginning June 3 and ending June 18 2013.

For more news on these matches or FIFA World Cup qualifying in other regions, visit Soccer Inferno. By downloading the SoccerInferno toolbar, you’ll have access to up-to-the-minute scores and videos with the click of a mouse.

United States Soccer Defeats Italy For First Time

01 March, 12:08, by admin Tags: , ,

Though it’s not the Fourth of July, today’s SoccerInferno news will have readers feeling especially patriotic. For the first time ever, the U.S. Men’s soccer team beat Italy in a historic match held Wednesday night. Clint Dempsy scored the game’s singular goal during the 55th minute. This is the American’s first win over the Azzuri in their 11 meetings spanning 78 years.

“It’s a work in progress,” Dempsy said about the victory. “I’d like to think that we’re closing the gap and hopefully we can do something special.”

American soccer has made advances in the past decade but has slipped in recent years. In 1990, the team made its first World Cup appearance in 40 years; in 2002 they advanced to the quarterfinals. In both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments, the team lost early to Ghana (first and second round respectively). Last June, the Americans lost to Mexico in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, their regional championship. In July, the U.S. Soccer Federation replaced Coach Bob Bradley with Jurgen Klinsmann.

So does the win mean a change in luck for the team?

“Obviously as a coach you’re pleased because you see them progressing, you see young players stepping up and playing against these amazing, experienced Italian players who have won the World Cup and played big tournaments year in and year out,” Klinsmann, a former German national team star player and coach, said. “Obviously it was a big step for us.”

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Suarez Charged in Allegations of Racist Comments

16 November, 13:34, by admin Tags: , ,

After a month-long investigation, the Football Association released its charge Wednesday against Liverpool’s Luis Suarez. Referring to an altercation that took place on Oct. 15 during Liverpool’s match against Manchester United, the FA reported that, “it is alleged that Suarez used abusive and/or insulting words and/or behavior towards Manchester United’s Patrice Evra contrary to FA rules,” according to a statement. “It is further alleged that this included a reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Patrice Evra,” the statement continued. Evra had raised the issue to the French TV station Canal Plus immediately following the October match, claiming that Suarez had used racist insults toward him “at least 10 times” during the match. The FA’s statement did not include what sort of sanctions that Suarez could face if he is found guilty.

Liverpool has issued a statement saying that the 24-year-old striker will plead not guilty.

“We will discuss the matter fully with him when he returns from international duty, but he will plead not guilty to the charge and we expect him to request a personal hearing. Luis remains determined to clear his name of the allegation made against him by Patrice Evra,” Liverpool said in a statement. “The club remains fully supportive of Luis in this matter.”

In light of these allegations and other ongoing investigations involving racial slurs, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has experienced some back lash after he offered his own ideas on how players should handle racism on the field. In two separate interviews this week, Blatter said that racism on the field of play is not a problem and suggested that a handshake was an ideal way to settle any issues. Realizing that his comments had been misunderstood by the soccer community as a whole, Blatter and FIFA later released a statement that said: “I would like to make it very clear, I am committed to the fight against racism and any type of discrimination in football and in society. I also know that racism unfortunately continues to exist in football, and I have never denied this. I strongly believe that we should continue to fight all together against racism on and off the field of play, in order to eradicate this plague.”

For more information on FIFA’s fight against racism, click here. To keep up with the latest soccer news, developments and scores, use the SoccerInferno toolbar!

Fox Claims Broadcast Rights to 2018, 2022 World Cup Tournaments

27 October, 06:36, by admin Tags: , ,

For the World Cup matches in 2018 and 2022, held in Russia and Qatar respectively, fans will no longer flip to the Disney-owned ESPN channels to watch coverage of the soccer playoffs. This week Fox, Telemund and Spanish language Futbol de Primera Radio paid a combined $1.2 billion to rights to broadcast the two-tournament package in the United States.

Fox, which individualy paid around $425 million, will own the rights to all FIFA events between 2015 and 2022, including the men’s World Cup in 2018 and 2022, the women’s world cup in 2015 and 2019 and all Under-20 and Under-17 matches. Gaining the broadcast rights to the World Cup is the crowning achievement to the network’s portfolio that already includes the UEFA Champions League, the English Premier League and Italy’s Serie A.

ESPN, which broadcast the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and will host the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, paid $100 million in a package deal with Univision that totaled $425 million for broadcasting rights. ESPN and Univision were favored to retain the rights for upcoming World Cup tournaments. These recent deals have proved that while the United States may not have the widest soccer fan base, it is FIFA’s most lucrative market. FIFA earns about 90 percent of its revenue from broadcasting, marketing and sponsorship deals tied to the World Cup. As a whole, the association estimated that it earned approximately $2.4 billion in broadcast sales worldwide for the 2010 tournament alone.

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Abby Wambach Wins Sportswoman of the Year Award

20 October, 08:55, by admin Tags: , ,

Last night, the Women’s Sports Foundation held the 32nd Annual Salute to Women in Sports Gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The event, which was hosted by ESPN personality Bonnie Bernstein, was attended by high-profile celebrities such as Venus Williams, Michelle Kwan, L.A. Dodgers manager Joe Torre, WSF Founder Billie Jean King, WSF President Laila Ali and members of the 2011 U.S. Women’s National Soccer team.

Abby Wambach, a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, received the Sportswoman of the Year award due to her exceptional performance and leadership during this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. During the World Cup Wambach led the U.S. team with four goals, bringing her total number of World Cup goals to 13. She now stands at number three on the list of all-time scoring with the Women’s World Cup.

Each year, the Women’s Sports Foundation recognizes an individual sport athlete and team sport athlete with outstanding performances in the previous calendar year. A Women’s Sports Foundation’s Awards Committee and the public select award winners through a 50-50 vote. The winners are the two athletes who receive the highest combined share of both the public and Award Committee vote. Past winners include Venus and Serena Williams, Nastia Liukin, Jessica Mendoza and Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

Jamaica, FIFA Work to Strengthen Country’s Women’s Soccer Program

27 September, 07:42, by admin Tags: ,

Last week, FIFA and the Jamaican Football Federation joined forces to hold a Com-Unity Seminar in Kingston, Jamaica, to discuss the development of girls and women’s soccer throughout the country.

“This is the best thing that has happened to the development of women’s football in this country,” said Captain Horace Burrell, President of the Jamaican Football Federation.

The seminar’s objectives ranged from getting more young girls to play soccer; raising awareness of the sport around Jamaica, getting more women involved in the sport’s technical aspects, like coaching and refereeing; and building partnerships with local organizations. Over 70 participants from the Jamaican Football Federation’s parish associations, women’s clubs, community groups, media and sponsors participated in the four-day colloquium.

During the week, Jamaican Football Federation representatives shared their plans to establish Women’s Committees in the island’s 14 parishes and to organize four regional women’s soccer seminars. To broaden the reach of women’s soccer in the country, organizations will also have to work together to establish appropriate facilities, quality coaching and referee education and, in cooperation with Jamaican media, a clear communications and marketing strategy focused specifically on women.

“FIFA’s goal is to ensure that every woman and girl who wishes to participate in football has the opportunity to o so,” said Mayrilian Cruz-Blanco, FIFA Women’s Football Development Manager. “The JFF has taken a tremendous step toward female football development by organizing this seminar, and FIFA looks forward to supporting the continued growth and development of girls and women’s football in Jamaica.”

USA vs. Japan

22 July, 08:13, by admin Tags: ,

The Japanese women’s national team won their first World Cup trophy when they defeated the United States in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final in Germany last Sunday. The game was tied 1-1 at the end of regular play and both teams scored during the overtime, pushing the score to 2-2. Many viewers and fans pulling for the Americans thought the team would be victorious after their successful penalty kicks during their game against Brazil on July 10. This time, they weren’t so lucky. Japan emerged victorious after Sunday’s shootout, making three of their penalty kicks against the American’s one.

The win was a huge moral victory for the people of Japan, who have struggled through such a difficult year after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country earlier this year. US striker Abby Wambach may have summed it up best, “I think Japan, a country which has gone through so much over the past few months, almost needed the victory more than we did. The thought that their success will bring happiness and hope to the Japanese people is a consolation.”

Victors aside, this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup has made history for women’s soccer. The game was ESPN’s most-viewed soccer match in history. Overall, it was the sixth most-viewed soccer telecast in the United States and second most-watched daytime program in cable history. The World Cup final also broke the record for most tweets per second, 7,196 at the end of the game.

USA Is In!

13 July, 15:07, by admin Tags: , ,

USA, who will compete in their first decider since winning on home soil in 1999, will face Japan for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Champions.

The action-packed match against France was tied 1-1 until Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan scored twice in three minutes in the latter stages to end France’s dreams of a first Final appearance. Final score was 3-1 USA.

Both teams came out of the lockers fast in wet conditions at the Stadion in Borussia-Park. However it was USA who took the early advantage with Lauren Cheney deftly deflecting the ball home at the near post on nine minutes, following Heather O’Reilly’s powerful cross down the left side.

Bompastor played a searching cross into the penalty area which ended up going in the net, it looked like the other forward was going to head it in but she missed and it snuck in.

USA got the breakthrough with 11 minutes remaining as the physically imposing Wambach scored with a towering header at the back post from a perfect Cheney corner. The goal saw Wambach draw level with Michelle Akers on 12 goals as the leading USA goalscorer in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Three minutes later the Morgan concluded a swift counter-attack with a smart finish past the exposed Sapowicz.

World Cup 2014

05 July, 09:12, by admin Tags: ,

The qualification draw for the 2014 World Cup will be held this month on July 31, 2011 so you will want to download the SoccerInferno toolbar to find out the updated news. The 20th FIFA World Cup will be hosted in Brazil in June and July 2014. This will be the second time the country has hosted the event, this first was in 1950. This will also be the first time the World Cup has been held in South America since 1978.

There are 12 cities that will host games, but the final game will be played in Rio de Janeiro at the Maracana Stadium. The Maracana Stadium was inaugurated in 1950. The 12 cities are: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Recife and Salvador.