World Cup opening match 2011 in front of record-setting crowd

The match has not been started yet, but the first record has already been broken. Today, Friday, December 17, 2010, the 50.000th ticket for the opening match of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup has been sold. Now it is certain that the match between Germany and Canada on June 26, 2011 at the Olympiastadion Berlin will set a new European Record for attendance in Women’s football.

The previous European record was set on April 22, 2009, when 44.825 came to Frankfurt’s World Cup Arena to see Germany vs. Brazil. The opening match for the first FIFA Women’s World Cup on German soil will also surpass the attendance marks for the previous two opening matches for World Cups (28.098 in China 2007 and 24.346 in the USA 2003). The opening match between the USA and Denmark during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1999 at the Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey will remain the best attended opening match with 78.972 spectators.

The absolute World Record for a women’s football match was set on July 10, 1999 during the World Cup final between the USA and China. 90.185 spectators came to the “Rose Bowl” in Pasadena, California just outside of Los Angeles to see the penalty shoot-out win by the U.S. Team (5:4) captained by Mia Hamm.

„More important than the European Record is the fact that this positive trend underlines the high interest that fans have taken in Germany and the world in women’s football. I am looking forward to a fantastic opening match in front of 74.000 spectators at the sold-out Olympiastadion “, said organising committee president Steffi Jones.

430.000 tickets have already been sold for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Until December 31, 2010, single game tickets are still available. The ticket sale during this phase, as during all phases before, is carried out via the official internet site www.FIFA.com/deutschland2011. Additionally, tickets can be bought via the hotline 01805 / 06 2011 (0,14 €cent / minute from German land line phones, mobile prices may vary).On January 20, 2011, the fourth ticketing phase begins. During this phase, tickets are offered for all games with a lottery determining the winners until February 20, 2011.