MEDIA RELEASE – Football glitz and glamour to hit Wellington
Wellington has been selected to host the Official Draw for the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup on June 1 at New
Zealand's renowned national museum Te Papa. The glittering event is expected to attract high profile attendees from some
of FIFA's 208 Member Associations who will have attended the 58th FIFA Congress held in Sydney on 29 and 30 May.
The Official Draw is the most highly anticipated pre-competition event for the 16 teams that have earned a berth at this
year’s tournament kicking off on 28 October in Auckland as well as for fans of the beautiful game worldwide. It sets the
stage for the competition by determining the opponents that each team will face during the group stage as well as
identifying the venue and date for each match. The New Zealand capital has been identified as the ideal site to host
international and local celebrities, delegations from FIFA and the 16 qualified teams following a FIFA inspection last
February.
"In New Zealand, we were in the fortunate position of having many great options to choose from in relation to selecting
the host city for the draw" said FIFA Head of Women's Competitions Tatjana Haenni. "However in Wellington, we have a
spectacularly beautiful city which is also the centre of government and a real stronghold for football. Te Papa itself
is also a splendid iconic national facility which will showcase New Zealand's cultural heritage."
Chris Simpson, CEO of the Local Organising Committee for the tournament to be held 28 October to 16 November 2008 added,
"The decision to host it in our country's capital reflects Wellington's proven ability to really support events in their
city. It also means that our four host cities will share honours for prestigious events centered around this FIFA U-17
Women's World Cup, with Auckland hosting the Opening Ceremony and Final, and Hamilton and Christchurch staging quarter
and semi-finals respectively."
The draw itself will run on the same template as for any other of FIFA's World Cup events for youth, men and women. As
host, New Zealand is automatically qualified as Oceania's representative at the tournament, with the remaining spots
being filled by teams from each of FIFA's five other confederations (Asia/AFC, Africa/CAF, Europe/UEFA, North, Central
American and Caribbean/CONCACAF and South America/CONMEBOL) Asia and South America are the only regions to date to have
completed the qualification process that will involve a total of over 100 countries. As a result, football powerhouses
Brazil will be accompanied by Paraguay, Columbia, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan to New Zealand. Africa with two
slots and Europe with four berths are the last to finish their final qualifications round in mid April with France
already secured one of the four European tickets to New Zealand.
"We are very excited about welcoming teams and dignitaries from all corners of the world," said Wellington Mayor Kerry
Prendergast. "Wellington knows how to put on a great show and these people will certainly experience the best of our
unique Kiwi culture and hospitality. We will make sure that everyone goes home to their countries wanting desperately to
come back later in the year to see one of the world's most beautiful countries and a top class event."
The Draw Ceremony is the first official associated event of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and will be presided over by
the tournament's Honorary President, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. As such, combined with high profile
delegates in attendance from all over the world and broadcasting rights for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup being
available to over 150 territories, the draw ceremony is expected to generate good international and domestic exposure
for Wellington and New Zealand.
ENDS