12 Reasons Why the 2015 Women's World Cup Will Be Amazing
The Women's World Cup will aim to draw its biggest crowd yet next year, and with only seven months remaining until Canada hosts the 2015 edition, anticipation is reaching fever pitch.
This Friday, December 6, the draw will be made at Ottawa's Canadian Museum of Nature to find out who faces who in the group stage, intensifying the excitement ahead of next summer's tournament.
In preparation for that contest-altering event, we examine some of the reasons why the 2015 Women's World Cup will break new barriers in the female format and make for one tremendous extravaganza.
1. Brazil Seeking to End South America's Search
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To this date, no South American team has ever won a Women's World Cup, with the United States and Germany claiming two apiece, while Norway and Japan triumphed in 1995 and 2011, respectively.
In fact, the Selecao have only featured in one of the six finals to have taken place thus far, in 2007, managing to make the semi-finals on just one other occasion (third place in 1999).
It's quite remarkable considering the team have been victorious in six of the seven Copa America Femenina tournaments, dominating their continental ranks with some aplomb.
In 2015, Vadao's women will seek to change that drought in world-title challenges, with nothing lacking in terms of the flair they possess.
2. Host Nation Canada Hoping to End Knockout Drought
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Playing host to the World Cup does come with its advantages, the most obvious of which is automatic qualification for the competition itself.
But with that easing into the tournament also comes a pressure to perform in front of a home audience. Having made it past the group stage just once in their five Women's World Cup expeditions thus far, the North Americans have as bright a hope as they could wish for in improving that ratio.
After finishing London 2012 with a bronze medal to their name and winning the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup in 2010, there rests a promising batch of athletes in John Herdman's side at present.
Veteran Christine Sinclair will aim to lend her wisdom in guiding the side past their previous best finish of fourth in 2003, with the Canadian throngs egging them on from the stands.
3. Biggest Team Pool in History
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This year marks an intriguing turn in the tournament's history, with the team pool increased from the 16 that's competed in the previous four editions up to a substantially larger 24.
It's a sign of the growing popularity of the women's game that FIFA feels comfortable in boosting the size of the competition by as much as a third.
There is the argument that a bigger pool of teams threatens to dilute competition. Weaker outfits making the cut promises to make matters easier for those more dominant parties.
However, in the end, it's hard to argue against this growth being a massive step forward for the women's game, where only time will tell if the change in approach goes down a success.
4. Quality on the Rise
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Exposure has been the main obstacle for women's football evolving to match its male counterpart over the years, with major competitions the biggest opportunities for broadcasting availability.
It's a shame that investment struggles, though, as the overall quality of the game is improving at a steady rate, despite some nations being blocked in their path to fund at the grassroots level.
In 2015, audiences hope to see the highest quality of football seen at a Women's World Cup to date, and with each tournament comes a new chance to increase awareness, pulling more youngsters into training and academies.
The titans of the sport, teams such as Germany, the United States, Brazil and Norway, will undoubtedly continue to show their skill, but the real promise comes from the minnows' gradual progress.
5. The Promise of New Giants Emerging
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Linked to that previous notion of overall entertainment enjoying a steady rise down the years, we can also hope to see new contenders come out of the woodwork and challenge the hierarchy in Canada.
The hosts themselves will be hoping to make it the semi-final stage for just the second time in their history, while the Asian giants of China and Japan are also hoping to maintain what's been a promising trajectory in recent tournaments.
England are in promising shape to breach barriers and look to make it into the last four for the first time. After finishing as runners-up in the last two Copa America Femenina tournaments, Colombia will also seek to replicate the meteoric surge of their male side in challenging for a World Cup title.
The World Cup has a habit of throwing logic out of the book, where one or more underdog will usually stage their assault on the usual dictators and upset tradition.
In the pursuit of entertainment value, one can only hope such is the case in 2015, with several dark horses showing serious potential.
6. Japan Under Pressure to Retain Their Throne
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Not only did 2011 see Japan make their first-ever appearance in the final four of a Women's World Cup, but it ended with the top prize to their name, beating the United States on penalties after finishing extra time at two goals apiece.
It was a storyline not many could have envisioned, but after conceding just four goals en route to the Frankfurt finale, defence was the team's main asset in holding their own.
That being said, Norio Sasaki's squad will now be looked upon in a different light. The pressure on this team to succeed has been turned up several notches as they bear a new weight in living up to fresh expectations.
7. United States Hopeful on North American Soil
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After 11 years away, the Women's Word Cup makes its way back to North America next year and the United States will be among those teams most pleased with the conditions in Canada.
It may not be their turf, per se, but many fixtures will feel like a home draw for Abby Wambach's women, who are hoping to become the competition's most decorated team in history with a third triumph.
Currently at the summit of the FIFA women's world rankings, the U.S.A. are unsurprisingly being touted as a favourite to once again take home the sport's most coveted crown.
After falling to Japan in the last tournament, the team has all the motivation it needs to go one better on Canadian soil, too.
8. Africa Embarks on New Finals Crusade
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Nigeria, Cameroon and the Ivory Coast make their way into the 2015 Women's World Cup as serious underdogs to inflict any damage whatsoever, with the latter two poised to make their finals debuts.
Just as is the case in the men's sport, no outfit from the African continent has ever made it to the semi-final phase of the contest. Nigeria stand as favourites to do so next year, preparing to make their seventh consecutive appearance in the finals.
In the name of the sport's development, it's seeing minnows such as this succeed that acts as a sign of improvement, but the odds are stacked against the trio to advance far in Canada.
9. Germany Shoulders European Burden
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France, Sweden, Norway and England each have differing odds of making it far in next year's tournament, but once again it's Germany that gives Europe its brightest hope of producing a winner.
Six successive UEFA Women's Championship victories in a row suggests Silvia Neid still has under her command an army of world-class talents who are capable of making it back to the top.
However, recent World Cups haven't gone to plan and saw Die Nationalelf lose out to eventual winners Japan in the quarters of the last tournament.
The playing staff are certainly skilful enough to do so, but it's arguably a question of whether or not Germany have all the mental attributes to live up to the tags as hot bets.
10. Ballon d'Or Nominees Contest for All-Time Scoring Record
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It was recently announced that Nadine Kessler (Germany), Marta (Brazil) and Wambach (U.S.A.) will make up this year's three-woman shortlist for the 2014 Women's Ballon d'Or.
After astonishing individual successes over the past calendar year, only one will be able to claim the prize, but Wambach and Marta in particular have a heated World Cup rivalry running alongside.
Heading into 2015, Marta and Wambach have netted 14 goals and 13 goals, respectively, in World Cup competition. Brazil's leading lady currently sits level on terms with ex-Germany attacker Birgit Prinz thanks to her record, but she can ease out of the shade and take the record as her own in Canada.
Looking to stage her own attack on that accolade, however, comes Wambach. At 34 years of age, this could well be the last World Cup she features in before hanging up her boots altogether.
She won't view the one-goal deficit separating her from Marta as an unassailable one, and depending on the group draw, she can look to make her impact felt early on in lifting both herself and the United States to new heights.
11. Canada Looking to Pack Stellar Venues
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All across Canada's southern border, the potential is there for next year's World Cup fixtures to be filled to the brim among dazzling scenery.
However, other than the nation itself being a thing of beauty, the stadia in which matches will be hosted aren't too shabby, either, with venues in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, Moncton, Edmonton and Vancouver looking promising.
In particular, the Olympic Stadium (Montreal) and Commonwealth Stadium (Vancouver), hold big promise, and if their respective capacities of 66,000 and 56,000 can be packed to the rafters, some amazing atmospheres await.
It's far from a given, though, with this being the women's game after all, but FIFA can dream.
12. Social Media Adds a New Dimension
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Social media has been in the public sphere for close to a decade now, but with each passing year come new and more advanced ways to keep updated on all matters, sport being a major benefactor.
Twitter helped engage a more global audience than ever at the 2014 World Cup, and while that and other social networks were very much alive in previous tournaments, it grows as a media tool day by day.
Women's football is in much need of those advances as it looks to rake in new fans, and social media will play a massive role in ensuring that no matter where in the world one might be, they have a chance to catch the action.
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