Lovefest for Canadian women as 2015 Cup logo unveiled
As only young girls can do, they giggled and blushed and swarmed after their heroes 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, live-streamed 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 Burnaby-born 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-tocoast 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 Herdmann, 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 seen the little video (of young soccer player Sofia Graziani of Moncton 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 dayout 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.”