In addition to host nation New Zealand, 23 nations qualified from six separate continental competitions.
The final draw was held on 10 February 2015, 17:30 local time, at the SkyCity Grand, Auckland. For the draw, the 24 teams were divided into four seeding pots:
As a basic principle, teams from the same confederation could not be drawn against each other at the group stage. As the CAF U-20 Championship was not completed at the time of the draw, a separate draw took place on 23 March 2015 in Dakar, Senegal, at the tournament's conclusion to determine the groups where the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed CAF teams would play in, to ensure there was no manipulation of games in the qualifying tournament ensuring fairness to all qualified teams.
The schedule of the tournament was unveiled on 20 November 2013.
A total of 21 referees, 6 support referees, and 42 assistant referees were selected for the tournament.
The 24 squads were officially announced by FIFA on 21 May 2015. Each participating national association had to submit a final list of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) at least 10 days before the tournament started. These players were shortlisted from a provisional list of 35 players, including a minimum of four goalkeepers. All players must have been born on or after 1 January 1995. If a player listed in the final squad suffered a serious injury up until 24 hours before the kick-off of his team's first match, he could be replaced by a player from the provisional list with the approval of FIFA's medical and organising committees.
In July 2015, it was reported that the New Zealand squad had included an ineligible player, South African Deklan Wynne not having completed the requisite period of residence in New Zealand.
The winners and runners-up of each group and the best four third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16. The rankings of teams in each group were determined as follows:
If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:
All times are local, New Zealand Standard Time ().
The four best ranked third-placed teams also advanced to the round of 16. They were paired with the winners of groups A, B, C and D, according to a table published in Section 18 of the tournament regulations.
In the knockout stage, if a match was level at the end of regular time (two periods of 45 minutes), extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. In the case of the third place match, as it was played just before the final, extra time was skipped and a penalty shoot-out took place if necessary.
The third-placed teams which advanced to the round of 16 were placed with the winners of groups A, B, C and D according to a table published in Section 18 of the tournament regulations.
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. They were all sponsored by Adidas, except for the FIFA Fair Play Award.
The official emblem of the tournament was unveiled on 20 November 2013. The official mascot, a black sheep named Wooliam, was unveiled on 30 November 2014.
Prior to being released for 'General sale' on 13 June 2014, registered footballers in New Zealand were given 'priority treatment' by allowing them the option to buy tickets from two months earlier.
In the first three months of tickets going on sale to residents, an estimated 25,000 were sold.
Jeetendra
Jeetendra (Ravi Kapoor; 07 April 1942) is an Indian actor and producer. Famous for his dancing,he was called "Jumping Jack". He was awarded a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 and the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. He was frequently cast opposite Sridevi and Jaya Prada. He is one of the most successful film stars in the Bollywood film industry. He is the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms, Balaji Motion Pictures.He has acted in nearly 200 films as the main lead.
Jeetendra was born in Amritsar, Punjab, to Amarnath and Krishna Kapoor. His father had business of imitation jewellery, supplied to film industry. He attended St. Sebastian's Goan High School in Girgaum, Mumbai with his friend Rajesh Khanna. While supplying jewellery to V. Shantaram, he was cast as Sandhya's character's double in the 1959 movie "Navrang".
Jeetendra's started acting in 1960s He acted as lead hero for 30 years. Jeetendra's first movie was V. Shantaram's Geet Gaya Patharon Ne (1964) and then Boond Jo Ban Gayee Moti (1967). "Farz" (1967) was his first successful movie. Jeetendra's popular co-stars were Sridevi,Jaya Prada,Rekha,Mumtaz, Hema Malini, Moushumi Chatterjee, Reena Roy, Neetu Singh, Sulakshana Pandit and Bindiya Goswami..
Shaleen Surtie-Richards
Shaleen Surtie-Richards (7 May 1955 – 7 June 2021) was a South African actress. She was best known for her starring roles in the 1988 movie "Fiela se Kind" and the long-running series "".
Surtie-Richards died on 7 June 2021, aged 66.
Su Yiran
Su Yiran (; November 5, 1918 – June 7, 2021) was a Chinese revolutionist and politician. He was governor of Shandong from 1979 to 1982. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party from 1977 until 1987. He was born in Sichuan, China.
Su died on June 7, 2021 in Jinan, China at the age of 102.
Richard Nunns
Richard Anthony Nunns (1945 – 7 June 2021) was a Māori traditional musician. He was known for playing taonga pūoro and his works with Hirini Melbourne.
He made recordings with musicians such as Moana and the Moahunters, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand String Quartet, King Kapisi, and Salmonella Dub.
Lucinda Franks
Lucinda Laura Franks (July 16, 1946May 5, 2021) was an American journalist, novelist, and memoirist. Franks won a Pulitzer Prize in 1971 for her reporting. She became the first woman to win a Pulitzer for National Reporting, and the youngest person ever to win any Pulitzer. She worked as a staff writer at "The New York Times" (1974 to 1977) and "The New Yorker" (1992 to 2006).
Franks died of cancer on May 5, 2021, in Hopewell Junction, New York, aged 74.
Hopewell Junction, New York
Hopewell Junction is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 376 at the 2010 census.
Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur
Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur or Mohtashami (; 1947 – 7 June 2021) was an Iranian Shia cleric. He was active during the 1979 Iranian Revolution and later became interior minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He is "seen as a founder of the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon".
Mohtashami was the target of an assassination attempt after he lost his right hand when he opened a book full with explosives.
Mohtashamipur died from COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran on 7 June 2021, aged 74.
Guglielmo Epifani
Guglielmo Epifani (24 March 1950 – 7 June 2021) was an Italian trade unionist and politician. From 2002 to 2010 he was the General Secretary of the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL). On 11 May 2013 Epifani was appointed Secretary of the Democratic Party (PD). From 2013 until his death, he was a member of the Chamber of Deputies.
Epifani died on 7 June 2021 in Rome from a pulmonary embolism, aged 71.
Mansour Ojjeh
Mansour Akram Ojjeh (25 September 1952 – 6 June 2021) () was a French Saudi Arabian-born businessman. He owned part of TAG. Ojjeh was the CEO of TAG, which owns 14.32% of the McLaren Group. He also owned 10% of the upmarket jewellers Asprey and Garrard.
In late 2013, Ojjeh had a double lung transplant after suffering with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Ojjeh died on 6 June 2021, at the age of 68.
Julio Miranda
Julio Antonio Miranda (October 17, 1946 – June 6, 2021) was an Argentine politician. He was a member of the Justicialist Party. Miranda was a member of the Senate from 1992 until 1999 and again from 2003 until 2009. Miranda was also Governor of the Tucumán Province from 1999 until 2003.