Women’s side helps unveil emblem for World Cup
As only girls can do, they giggled and blushed and swarmed after their heroines while looking for anybody on the fake turf at BC Place Stadium to take their camera phone and snap a picture.
Nearby, parents with cameras of their own were eagerly snapping shots Friday as their soccer-playing daughters ran from Christine Sinclair to Sophie Schmitt to Erin McLeod, etc.
It was the post-script following a splashy, half-hour, livestreamed lovefest of women’s soccer that was ostensibly held to unveil the emblem for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
And it was a reaffirmation of the impact Canada’s national team made on the country this summer when it earned bronze at the London 2012 Olympics.
Dozens of young players joined the national team on the turf in front of the lowered giant video screen and then cheered wildly as Sinclair, the striker recently named Canada’s athlete of the year, drove a ball into a net and set off fireworks.
The hope among Canadian soccer officials is that the euphoria will carry over to 2015 when the newly expanded World Cup — 24 teams will qualify versus 16 in Germany in 2011 — will be contested coast-to-coast at venues in Moncton, N.B., Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and at BC Place.
“There’s so many milestones that go on with this event,” said Victor Montagliani, chair of the organizing committee. “Today was the emblem launch and there’s a lot of things we have planned between now and 2015.
“The game of football is always top of mind with this country. With our women (set) to play in the professional league (in the United States), that’s another opportunity to keep this team and these players top of mind.”
National team head coach John Herdman, who is currently conducting an evaluation camp in Vancouver for veterans and young hopefuls, said Friday’s ceremony is just one of the pieces in the buildup to 2015.
“It is so far away, but it’s so close, too. The girls seeing that today, I mean I got goose bumps when I saw the little video (of young soccer player Sofia Graziani of Monc- ton travelling to Germany to collect a soccer ball from 2011 organizers).
“It lets you realize that ‘Hey, we’re going to invest four years of our lives.’ That’s a big investment for anyone, to commit day-in and day-out to dream about playing the final somewhere in Canada to win that World Cup.”
The competition schedule and the site where the final will be played will be decided at a FIFA executive committee meeting in March.
Montagliani said all six cities have things going for them, from Vancouver’s “pedigree” in hosting events like the Olympic qualifier, to new stadiums in Winnipeg and Ottawa, and to Moncton’s “charm.”
“What we’ll be looking at is that we want to ensure that our team has the best opportunity, in the schedule, to compete ... and to make sure it’s a balanced schedule, fair to everybody and then looking for the best interests of the tournament in terms of where the big games need to be.”
Meantime, Herdman said the energy level at this week’s camp has been high.
“Before I took the team on (after Canada’s disastrous 2011 World Cup) there was a bit of a ‘Canada can’t’ mindset. The mindset now is ‘Canada can’. There’ll be a group of these players who will be there in 2015 that can do it. Mindset is everything and we’re certainly in a good space in that area.”
Herdman said he expects to decide by January which 16 Canadian players will be selected to play in the U.S. pro league set to start up in the spring in eight American cities.
The players will be paid by the Canadian Soccer Association.
One of the players likely to play in the league is Sophie Schmidt, a 24-year-old midfielder.
“It’s a great opportunity to play close to home, something I’m looking forward to,” said Schmidt, who had played club soccer in Sweden and was looking to return to Europe before the U.S. opportunity came up.
Herdman and Schmidt said they weren’t concerned that the folding of the Vancouver Whitecaps’ women’s team would have a detrimental effect on player development.
The club will continue with its female youth programs, “developing that next tier of players,” said Herdman “from 14 through 18. That’s a great place to spend money.”