Now Women's football is more global : Blatter

On the day before the final of the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011™ between USA and Japan, FIFA and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) staged a news conference summarizing key topics arising from the tournament.

The news conference was addressed by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, German FA (DFB) President Dr Theo Zwanziger, LOC President Steffi Jones, FIFA Head of Women’s Competitions Tatjana Haenni, FIFA Executive Committee member Michel D’Hooghe, FIFA Chief Medical Officer and chairman of the FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC) Prof Jiri Dvorak, and FIFA Executive Committee member and chairman of the FIFA Committee for Women's Football Worawi Makudi.


FIFA.com reviews the most significant statements made by the participants.


FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter

We are 1 day away from the end of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 in Germany, and I'm a very satisfied President. I would like to express my thanks for the exceptionally good organization of this tournament. My thanks are not only to Steffi Jones and the Organizing Committee, the German FA and DFB president Dr Theo Zwanziger, and the FIFA official in charge of organization Worawi Makudi, but also to the government agencies involved. It is not possible to stage a World Cup without the assistance and guarantees given by the government. I would also like to thank the city authorities for making their stadiums available to us. The stadiums were magnificent, all of them absolutely meeting the required international standards.

On the atmosphere at the stadiums:
The passion remained, even after Germany suddenly stumbled in the quarter-finals. That may have caused a moment of reflection and a few rueful thoughts in Germany, but as you've all seen, the crowds kept on coming. And from an international point of view, especially on TV, viewers have suddenly seen new teams. Women's football has become more global. The final will now be played to an audience on both sides of the world, from the East where the sun rises, all the way over to the West.

On the general standard of play:
The football was exciting and very good, although you should never compare it to the men's version, even though it is the same basic game, with 11 players against 11, 1 ball and 1 referee. All 16 teams showed there are not any weak teams any more, which is why We will start with 24 teams at the next FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. Now is the right time to go from 16 to 24 teams, and that'll open new markets for women's football.

On the prize money:
The total prize money in 2007 was US $6.4 million. Prior to the 2011 finals, we set the prize money at US $7.6 million. At the request of the committee and with the support of the FIFA Executive, We have increased that to US $10 million. We will calculate how It is to be distributed later on.

On Japan’s success:
I have been at FIFA for more than 36 years, so nothing can shock me any more. You occasionally get miracles, but miracles are very rare. In my opinion, it is still a surprise that Japan made it through to the final, but when you review the development of the women's game in Japan over the last few years, and how they’ve performed at recent FIFA tournaments, it is obvious they have taken a significant step forward. The fact they are through to the final conclusively proves their victory against overwhelming favorites Germany had nothing to do with luck. They are genuinely rising up the rankings.

On women's football in Africa:
Women’s football in Africa is still in a state of consolidation, and is not yet moving into a competitive phase. What we have lacked in Africa up to now be support from the national associations. Only a very few associations have a women’s section or a women’s league. They do not yet have club competitions for women. The situation will only improve once women are playing in clubs. They need to be rooted in the clubs, because clubs form the foundation of football.

Dr Theo Zwanziger, DFB President
Here in Germany, we’re hugely grateful to FIFA for giving us four major global tournaments in the last six years. I do not think that will happen again, especially when you consider that FIFA has considerably more than 200 member associations. I would like to express my respect and gratitude to all the national associations which make up the FIFA family.

Steffi Jones, President of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Local Organizing Committee
My summary is very positive. I would expressly like to thank FIFA, the DFB, the OC and the whole team. It has always been a joint effort. I have said this often in the past, but I'm only too happy to repeat myself: I did not organize this World Cup on my own. Thanks to my terrific team, I have been able to make a contribution to staging this fantastic World Cup.