(ATR) The FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off Sunday in Germany with the hosts looking to become the only team to win the competition three times – and in successive fashion.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin on Saturday, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said Germany 2011 would be a "milestone in the development of women's soccer".
Germany won the tournament in 2003 in the USA, beating Sweden in the final 2-1 with a golden goal in extra-time. They then went on to win in China in 2007 against Brazil with Birgit Prinz opening the scoring. She will be looking to add to her all-time leading tally of 14 World Cup goals in the tournament.
The sixth edition of the competition begins in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, where 1,500 fans representing the 16 participating countries will be using lights and mirrors in the lights and music show.
The stadium was host to the 2006 Germany World Cup men’s final, but this will be the first time it's been used to host a women’s football match.
The tournament may prove to be one of the most competitive yet. Brazil, led by five-time reigning World Player of the Year Marta, are bidding to win for the first time in their history.
"Now it’s our time to win it," striker Cristiane of Santos told FIFA.com as the women strive to step out of the shadow of the five-time World Cup winning men’s team.
Two-time champions USA will look to improve upon their third place finish in 2007, with coach Pia Sundhage confident of success.
"We are one of the favorites because we are a good team," she said. "We are looking forward to a fantastic tournament. The girls have lots of energy and are extremely confident."
The favorites Germany, Brazil and the USA are joined by 13 other teams, including debutants Equatorial Guinea and Colombia. European championship runners-up England are also represented, though they have never progressed past the quarter-finals of the tournament.
A capacity crowd of 70,000 will watch the opening game, Germany versus Canada, and many more will travel to the other host cities – Frankfurt, Moenchengladbach, Sinsheim, Wolfsburg, Ausgsburg, Bochum, Dresden and Leverkusen – over 22 days to see their teams play.
World Cup organizers said on Saturday that 720,000 of the tournament's 900,000 tickets had been sold.
Blatter is attending the opening ceremony and first match. He will return for the semifinals and the July 17 final.
Steffi Jones, president of the tournament organizing committee, called on fans Saturday in Berlin not to jeer Blatter following the wave of corruption scandals that have engulfed FIFA and tarnished his reputation.
While the men's 2010 World Cup in South Africa had a prize fund of $420 million, only $6 million is on offer for the women at Germany 2011.
Germany are delivering the tournament in a similar way to the widely acclaimed 2006 men's World Cup, though on a much smaller scale. The tournament has a budget of $72 million, compared to $751 million for 2006.
More than 2,000 journalists are accredited to cover the Women's World Cup.
For complete coverage of the tournament, follow World Football INSIDER.
Written by Christian Radnedge.
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