While millions are tuning in to watch the exploits of Messi and No-mar at the Copa America, a much bigger football tournament is taking place elsewhere in the world. The seventh 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup is currently underway in Canada. But don’t be too hard on yourself if you weren’t aware of it. No Indian TV channel is broadcasting the event, while the Indian media has largely ignored it.
However, if you do make the effort, there’s a lot to enjoy about the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Unlike the Copa America, the headlines are not dominated by headbutts and disciplinary bans. The football has been great, with some amazing underdog stories. As the quarter-final stage gets under way, here are some of the highlights from the event:
It's setting attendance and viewership records
The old myth that women’s football doesn’t have an audience has been well and truly broken. The statistics are indicating the level of interest in the event. Five out of six venues during the group stage were sold out. The opening game saw an attendance of 53,058, a Canadian record for any national team playing at home.
Even the viewership figures have been astounding. Figures range in the millions – over five million fans tuned in to watch the United States take on Nigeria on Fox, while the corresponding figure for Canada was around 2.3 million. It’s not as if it’s a North American trend alone – even China and Japan have recorded huge viewership numbers.
The underdogs are punching above their weight
There can’t be a World Cup without an unfancied underdog coming in and disrupting the established order, right? And true to form, the World Cup is throwing up some great stories.
Australia’s journey through the tournament is a case in point. Ranked 10th in the world, the Matildas (the nickname for the Australian women’s team) managed to qualify for the Round of 16 after having to battle through the “Group of Death”. Then, they kept their nerve to clinch a 1-0 victory over footballing giants Brazil. In fact, their win against Brazil marks the first time an Australian football team – men or woman – has won a World Cup knockout game.
There have been other upsets as well. Twenty-eighth ranked Colombia created a minor sensation when they defeated France in the group stage but ultimately lost against the US. Cameroon, ranked 68th in the world, fought fiercely to clinch a place in the Round of 16, but sadly suffered a narrow defeat against China.
The encounters have been spicy
And it’s not just been all sunshine and rain. If there’s a world title up for grabs, there’s surely going to be some competitiveness on display. Quite a few of the matches have been evenly contested. Thankfully though, things haven’t come to a stage where players are biting one another or putting in tackles hard enough to break metatarsals.
The very first match saw a bit of controversy. Canada squeaked through 1-0 against China through a disputed stoppage-time penalty, after a Chinese defender’s outstretched arm caught a Canadian striker. Though the Canadians were adamant that the decision was correct, it still caused plenty of debate.
Then, the United States-Australia result saw quite a bit of passion rising between the two countries. Australia were definitely not impressed by the US’s cagey 3-1 victory. The official Football Australia website published a piece claiming, “The USA, well, they just aren’t that good” and further went on to criticise their “rudimentary, bog-standard 4-4-2” style of play.
Understandably, the US media quickly labelled the Aussies sore losers and hit right back, calling them “a nation of convicts”. Ouch.
The artificial turf controversy still keeps raging
The biggest talking point before the tournament was FIFA’s decision to play the game on artificial turf rather than on natural grass. Critics argue that the decision reeks of gender discrimination and the governing body would never have taken such a decision for a tournament involving men. Some players even filed a lawsuit against FIFA, but later withdrew it.
But almost a fortnight into the tournament, the furore refuses to die down. This time the debate has taken a new turn with players from the US squad blaming the turf for the lack of goals. After the Australia-US match, a US striker who had missed two headers squarely blamed the artificial turf for the miss when she said, “I score if we’re on grass.”
Murmurs of discontent from other teams have also been heard. The Japanese captain Aya Miyama also admitted that “dribbling was difficult” on artificial turf.
Things are just going to get more exciting
China, the US, Germany, France, Australia, England and Canada are the teams that are already through to the quarter-final stage and they'll be joined by either Japan or the Netherlands. Germany and France clash in a much anticipated encounter while England are daring to dream of World Cup success.
Can Japan defend their title? Will Germany or the US clinch their third title? Shall we see a new winner? The most exciting part of the Women's World Cup is here. Make sure you follow it!
However, if you do make the effort, there’s a lot to enjoy about the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Unlike the Copa America, the headlines are not dominated by headbutts and disciplinary bans. The football has been great, with some amazing underdog stories. As the quarter-final stage gets under way, here are some of the highlights from the event:
It's setting attendance and viewership records
The old myth that women’s football doesn’t have an audience has been well and truly broken. The statistics are indicating the level of interest in the event. Five out of six venues during the group stage were sold out. The opening game saw an attendance of 53,058, a Canadian record for any national team playing at home.
Even the viewership figures have been astounding. Figures range in the millions – over five million fans tuned in to watch the United States take on Nigeria on Fox, while the corresponding figure for Canada was around 2.3 million. It’s not as if it’s a North American trend alone – even China and Japan have recorded huge viewership numbers.
The underdogs are punching above their weight
There can’t be a World Cup without an unfancied underdog coming in and disrupting the established order, right? And true to form, the World Cup is throwing up some great stories.
Australia’s journey through the tournament is a case in point. Ranked 10th in the world, the Matildas (the nickname for the Australian women’s team) managed to qualify for the Round of 16 after having to battle through the “Group of Death”. Then, they kept their nerve to clinch a 1-0 victory over footballing giants Brazil. In fact, their win against Brazil marks the first time an Australian football team – men or woman – has won a World Cup knockout game.
There have been other upsets as well. Twenty-eighth ranked Colombia created a minor sensation when they defeated France in the group stage but ultimately lost against the US. Cameroon, ranked 68th in the world, fought fiercely to clinch a place in the Round of 16, but sadly suffered a narrow defeat against China.
The encounters have been spicy
And it’s not just been all sunshine and rain. If there’s a world title up for grabs, there’s surely going to be some competitiveness on display. Quite a few of the matches have been evenly contested. Thankfully though, things haven’t come to a stage where players are biting one another or putting in tackles hard enough to break metatarsals.
The very first match saw a bit of controversy. Canada squeaked through 1-0 against China through a disputed stoppage-time penalty, after a Chinese defender’s outstretched arm caught a Canadian striker. Though the Canadians were adamant that the decision was correct, it still caused plenty of debate.
Then, the United States-Australia result saw quite a bit of passion rising between the two countries. Australia were definitely not impressed by the US’s cagey 3-1 victory. The official Football Australia website published a piece claiming, “The USA, well, they just aren’t that good” and further went on to criticise their “rudimentary, bog-standard 4-4-2” style of play.
Understandably, the US media quickly labelled the Aussies sore losers and hit right back, calling them “a nation of convicts”. Ouch.
The artificial turf controversy still keeps raging
The biggest talking point before the tournament was FIFA’s decision to play the game on artificial turf rather than on natural grass. Critics argue that the decision reeks of gender discrimination and the governing body would never have taken such a decision for a tournament involving men. Some players even filed a lawsuit against FIFA, but later withdrew it.
But almost a fortnight into the tournament, the furore refuses to die down. This time the debate has taken a new turn with players from the US squad blaming the turf for the lack of goals. After the Australia-US match, a US striker who had missed two headers squarely blamed the artificial turf for the miss when she said, “I score if we’re on grass.”
Murmurs of discontent from other teams have also been heard. The Japanese captain Aya Miyama also admitted that “dribbling was difficult” on artificial turf.
Things are just going to get more exciting
China, the US, Germany, France, Australia, England and Canada are the teams that are already through to the quarter-final stage and they'll be joined by either Japan or the Netherlands. Germany and France clash in a much anticipated encounter while England are daring to dream of World Cup success.
Can Japan defend their title? Will Germany or the US clinch their third title? Shall we see a new winner? The most exciting part of the Women's World Cup is here. Make sure you follow it!
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