Call it a success, but just not an overwhelming one.
Canada pulled it off without a hitch—hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament across five time zones. It turned into the largest single sporting event for women in the world.
“Our belief is that there was flawless execution and organization for this competition,” stated Peter Montopoli at the closing press conference in Vancouver on July 3. Montopoli is Chief Executive Officer of the National Organizing Committee and Canada Soccer General Secretary.
“Everything from a team perspective was handled in a flawless manner. We’re talking about five time zones.”
It couldn’t have been done without the more than 2,100 volunteers putting in over 80,000 hours of work.
A big component of overall success is the development of women in leadership positions; 65 percent of staff was women. Pulling off the feat of hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup bodes well for Canada’s ability to host future large events.
Another criterion for success was, of course, attendance. The goal of getting 1.5 million spectators to attend the tournament was 90 percent reached.
“I think anytime you reach 90 percent of anything, you’re pretty successful in life.” Montopoli estimated 1.35 million spectators will have attended the tournament after the third-place and final matches. The tournament already set a record for best-attended FIFA tournament excluding Men’s World Cups.
