2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

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International football competitionTemplate:SHORTDESC:International football competition
The **2015 FIFA Women's World Cup** was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. In March 2011, Canada won the right to host the event, the first time the country would host the tournament and the third time it has been held in North America. Matches were played in six cities across Canada in five time zones. The tournament began on 6 June 2015, and finished with the finals on 5 July 2015 with a United States victory over Japan.

The 2015 tournament saw the World Cup expanded to 24 teams from 16 in 2011. Canada's team received direct entry as host and a qualification tournament of 134 teams was held for the remaining 23 places. With the expanded tournament, eight teams made their Women's World Cup debut. All previous Women's World Cup finalists qualified for the tournament, with defending champions Japan and returning champions Germany (2003, 2007) and the United States (1991, 1999) among the seeded teams.

The 2015 tournament used goal-line technology for the first time with the Hawk-Eye system. It was also the first World Cup for either men or women to be played on artificial turf, with all matches played on such surfaces. There were some initial concerns over a possible increased risk of injuries from playing on artificial turf, but a legal challenge suggesting matches should be played on grass as in similar men's tournaments was dropped in January 2015.

## Host selection

The bidding for each FIFA Women's World Cup typically includes hosting rights for the previous year's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup (similar to the men's version, in which the host nation stages the Confederations Cup the year before). Bids for the tournament were required to be submitted by December 2010. Only two bids were submitted:

* Canada
* Template:Country data ZIM Zimbabwe (withdrawn)

Zimbabwe withdrew its bid on 1 March 2011. The country was seen as a long shot as its women's team was ranked 103rd in the world at the time of the bid and has never qualified for a Women's World Cup. There is also ongoing political and economic instability in the country.

## Qualification

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
 File:2015 womens world cup qualification.PNG
For 2015, the number of qualifying teams grew from 16 to 24 and scheduled matches increased from 32 to 52. On 11 June 2012, FIFA announced a change to the allocation of the qualifying berths for its continental confederations. The FIFA Executive Committee approved the following slot allocation and the distribution of eight new slots:

* AFC (Asia): 5 slots (up from 3)
* CAF (Africa): 3 slots (up from 2)
* CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean): 3.5 slots (up from 2.5)
* CONMEBOL (South America): 2.5 slots (up from 2)
* OFC (Oceania): 1 slot (same as 2011)
* UEFA (Europe): 8 slots (up from 4.5)
* Host Nation: 1 slot (same as 2011)

After North Korea had several players test positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA banned the North Korean team from participating in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. This was the first time a women's team had been banned from a Women's World Cup, and it was the first time since 1995 that North Korea did not participate in a Women's World Cup.

### Qualified teams

The latest published FIFA Rankings prior to the tournament (March 2015) are shown in brackets.

* China PR (16)
* Japan (4)
* South Korea (18)
* File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand (29)

CAF (3)* File:Flag of Cameroon.svg.png Cameroon (53)
* Template:Country data CIV (67)
* Nigeria (33)

* Costa Rica (37)
* Mexico (25)
* United States (2)

CONMEBOL (3)* Brazil

 (7)
* File:Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia (28)
* Ecuador (48)

OFC (1)* New Zealand (17)

* France (3)
* Germany (1)
* Netherlands (12)
* Norway (11)
* Spain (14)
* Sweden (5)
* File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg.png Switzerland (19)

## Venues

The cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton were selected to host tournament matches. Halifax was also considered, but removed itself from contention in March 2012. Toronto decided not to bid, due to potential conflicts with the 2015 Pan American Games. Due to FIFA's policy against commercial sponsorship of stadium names, Investors Group Field in Winnipeg and TD Place Stadium in Ottawa were respectively known as Winnipeg Stadium and Lansdowne Stadium during the tournament.

Canada had previously hosted FIFA tournaments including the 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship, 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship, the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which set an attendance record for that tournament, and most recently the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Note: Seating capacities as configured for these FIFA games.

### Artificial turf

All of the tournament's venues had fields composed of artificial turf, which some players believe results in a higher risk of injuries to players. More than 50 players protested the use of the surface instead of grass on the basis of gender discrimination. They filed a lawsuit challenging FIFA's decision to play on artificial turf, claiming FIFA would never allow the men's World Cup to be played on "unsafe" artificial turf and thus the organizers had violated the Canadian Human Rights Act. 2012 Women's World Player of the Year Abby Wambach noted "The men would strike playing on artificial turf." The controversial issue of gender equality and an equal playing field for all sparked debate in many countries around the world. An application filed on 1 October 2014 with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal by a group of women's international soccer players against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association noted that, in 1994, FIFA spent $2 million to plant natural grass over artificial turf in New Jersey and Detroit. Some celebrities and prominent players showed their support for the women soccer players in defence of their lawsuit, including United States men's team keeper Tim Howard. Even with the possibility of boycotts, FIFA's head of women's competitions, Tatjana Haenni, made it clear "We play on artificial turf and there's no Plan B." In January 2015, the lawsuit was withdrawn by the players.

Fox commentator Julie Steward-Binks measured the turf temperature at several games. On 21 June at the Canada vs Switzerland round of 16 game in Vancouver, she reported that her thermometer was "officially broken". Her thermometer appears to max out at 120 °F (49 °C).

During the tournament, Australian striker Michelle Heyman slammed the playing conditions, saying the turf is like "walking on hot coals" and the players feet "just turn white, your skin is all ripped off".

Prior to the start of the Australia vs Japan quarterfinal in Edmonton on 27 June, Fox commentator Kyndra de St. Aubin measured the air temperature at 82 °F (28 °C) and the turf temperature at 150 °F (66 °C). Despite such dangerous conditions, officials decided against taking cooling breaks during the match because the air temperature was under 32 °C (90 °F). As the game wore on, players appeared noticeably exhausted due to the playing conditions.

## Squads

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads
Each team's squad for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers), two more than the 2011 tournament, and the same number as men's World Cup squads. Each participating national association was required to confirm its final 23-player squad no later than 10 working days before the start of the tournament. Replacement of seriously injured players was permitted until 24 hours before the team in question's first World Cup game.

The squads were officially announced by FIFA on 28 May 2015. Formiga of Brazil and Homare Sawa of Japan were included in World Cup squads for the sixth time, a record for any men or women players.

## Match officials

A total of 22 referees, 7 support referees, and 44 assistant referees were selected for the tournament.

## Draw

The draw was held on 6 December 2014 at 12:00 Eastern Standard Time at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The seeding pots were announced the day before. Because UEFA qualified eight teams into the final tournament, which had only six groups, two groups by necessity had to contain two European teams. Otherwise, no group could have more than one team from any confederation.

 Brazil

 France
 Germany
 Japan
 United States
Template:Country data CIV
 Nigeria
 Costa Rica
 Mexico
 New Zealand
 China PR
 South Korea
File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand
File:Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia
 Ecuador
 Netherlands
 Norway
 Spain
 Sweden
File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg.png Switzerland

## Group stage

The provisional match schedule for the tournament was released on 21 March 2013, with the hosts, Canada, placed in position A1. The final schedule with match times was released on the same day right after the draw was made.

 File:FIFA Womens World Cup 2015.png
The first round, or group stage, saw the twenty four teams divided into six groups of four teams. Each group was played in a round-robin-format of six games, where each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same group. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. The winners and runners-up from each group, as well as the best four third-placed teams, qualified for the first round of the knockout stage.

The ranking of each team in each group were determined as follows:

1. points obtained in all group matches;
2. goal difference in all group matches;
3. number of goals scored in all group matches;

If two or more teams were on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:

4. points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
5. goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
6. number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
7. drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee.

### Group A

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A
Template:2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A table

### Group B

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B
Template:2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B table

### Group C

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C
Template:2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C table

### Group D

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D
Template:2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D table

### Group E

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E
Template:2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E table

### Group F

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F
Template:2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F table

### Ranking of third-placed teams

The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advanced to the next stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up. The ranking of the third-placed teams were determined by the "rules for classification" listed below the table (that is, ranked by columns Pts, GD, and GF in sequence; then by drawing lots).

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Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) drawing of lots.
In the next stage the four third-placed teams were matched with the winners of groups A, B, C and D according to a table published in Section 28 of the tournament regulations.

## Knockout stage

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage

### Round of 16

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20 June 201516:00 EDT (UTC−4)

Lansdowne Stadium, OttawaAttendance: 22,486Referee: Ri Hyang-ok (Template:Nfa)

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20 June 201517:30 MDT (UTC−6)

Commonwealth Stadium, EdmontonAttendance: 15,958Referee: Bibiana Steinhaus (Template:Nfa)

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21 June 201514:00 ADT (UTC−3)

Moncton Stadium, MonctonAttendance: 12,054Referee: Teodora Albon (Template:Nfa)

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21 June 201516:00 EDT (UTC−4)

Olympic Stadium, MontrealAttendance: 15,518Referee: Salomé di Iorio (Template:Nfa)

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21 June 201516:30 PDT (UTC−7)

BC Place, VancouverAttendance: 53,855Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (Template:Nfa)

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22 June 201517:00 EDT (UTC−4)

Lansdowne Stadium, OttawaAttendance: 19,829Referee: Esther Staubli (Template:Nfa)

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22 June 201518:00 MDT (UTC−6)

Commonwealth Stadium, EdmontonAttendance: 19,412Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (Template:Nfa)

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23 June 201519:00 PDT (UTC−7)

BC Place, VancouverAttendance: 28,717Referee: Lucila Venegas (Template:Nfa)
### Quarter-finals

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26 June 201516:00 EDT (UTC−4)

Olympic Stadium, MontrealAttendance: 24,859Referee: Carol Chenard (Template:Nfa)

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26 June 201519:30 EDT (UTC−4)

Lansdowne Stadium, OttawaAttendance: 24,141Referee: Carina Vitulano (Template:Nfa)

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27 June 201514:00 MDT (UTC−6)

Commonwealth Stadium, EdmontonAttendance: 19,814Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Template:Nfa)

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27 June 201516:30 PDT (UTC−7)

BC Place, VancouverAttendance: 54,027Referee: Claudia Umpierrez (Template:Nfa)
### Semi-finals

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30 June 201519:00 EDT (UTC−4)

Olympic Stadium, MontrealAttendance: 51,176Referee: Teodora Albon (Template:Nfa)

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1 July 201517:00 MDT (UTC−6)

Commonwealth Stadium, EdmontonAttendance: 31,467Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley (Template:Nfa)
### Match for third place

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4 July 201514:00 MDT (UTC−6)

Commonwealth Stadium, EdmontonAttendance: 21,483Referee: Ri Hyang-ok (Template:Nfa)
### Final

Main article: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
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5 July 201516:00 PDT (UTC−7)

BC Place, VancouverAttendance: 53,341Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Template:Nfa)
Template:Winners

## Goalscorers

Further information: 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup statistics
6 goals
* Célia Šašić
* Carli Lloyd

5 goals
* Anja Mittag

3 goals

* Kyah Simon
* File:Flag of Cameroon.svg.png Gaëlle Enganamouit
* Fara Williams
* Marie-Laure Delie
* Eugénie Le Sommer
* Ada Hegerberg
* File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg.png Ramona Bachmann
* File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg.png Fabienne Humm

2 goals

* Lisa De Vanna
* File:Flag of Cameroon.svg.png Madeleine Ngono Mani
* File:Flag of Cameroon.svg.png Gabrielle Onguéné
* Christine Sinclair
* Wang Lisi
* Wang Shanshan
* File:Flag of Colombia.svg Lady Andrade
* Lucy Bronze
* Karen Carney
* Sara Däbritz
* Lena Petermann
* Template:Country data CIV Ange N'Guessan
* Aya Miyama
* Yūki Ōgimi
* Kirsten van de Ven
* Solveig Gulbrandsen
* Isabell Herlovsen
* Linda Sembrant
* File:Flag of Thailand.svg Orathai Srimanee
* Megan Rapinoe

1 goal

* Andressa Alves
* Formiga
* Marta
* Raquel
* File:Flag of Cameroon.svg.png Christine Manie
* File:Flag of Cameroon.svg.png Ajara Nchout
* Josée Bélanger
* Ashley Lawrence
* File:Flag of Colombia.svg Daniela Montoya
* File:Flag of Colombia.svg Catalina Usme
* Melissa Herrera
* Raquel Rodríguez
* Karla Villalobos
* Angie Ponce
* Steph Houghton
* Fran Kirby
* Jodie Taylor
* Amandine Henry
* Louisa Nécib
* Élodie Thomis
* Melanie Behringer
* Simone Laudehr
* Melanie Leupolz
* Dzsenifer Marozsán
* Alexandra Popp
* Template:Country data CIV Josée Nahi
* Saori Ariyoshi
* Mana Iwabuchi
* Mizuho Sakaguchi
* Aya Sameshima
* Yuika Sugasawa
* Fabiola Ibarra
* Verónica Pérez
* Lieke Martens
* Rebekah Stott
* Hannah Wilkinson
* Ngozi Okobi
* Francisca Ordega
* Asisat Oshoala
* Maren Mjelde
* Trine Rønning
* Cho So-hyun
* Jeon Ga-eul
* Ji So-yun
* Kim Soo-yun
* Verónica Boquete
* Victoria Losada
* Nilla Fischer
* Sofia Jakobsson
* File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg.png Eseosa Aigbogun
* File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg.png Ana-Maria Crnogorčević
* File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg.png Martina Moser
* File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thanatta Chawong
* Tobin Heath
* Lauren Holiday
* Alex Morgan
* Kelley O'Hara
* Christen Press
* Abby Wambach

1 own goal
* Laura Bassett (playing against Japan)
* Jennifer Ruiz (playing against France)
* Desire Oparanozie (playing against Sweden)
* Julie Johnston (playing against Japan)

2 own goals
* Angie Ponce (in the same match, playing against Switzerland)

Source: FIFA.com

## Awards

See also: FIFA Women's World Cup awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.

 Lucy Bronze
 Julie Johnston
 Célia Šašić
 Silver Ball
 Silver Boot

 Young Player Award

 FIFA Fair Play Trophy

Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Šašić and Lloyd had the same number of goals and assists (6 goals, 1 assist). Šašić won the Golden Boot due to having played fewer minutes.

### All-Star Team

The All-Star Team elected by FIFA's Technical Study Group consists of the following players:

 Nadine Angerer
 Hope Solo
 Lucy Bronze
 Steph Houghton
 Wendie Renard
 Saori Ariyoshi
 Julie Johnston
 Meghan Klingenberg
 Amandine Henry
 Eugénie Le Sommer
 Aya Miyama
 Mizuho Sakaguchi
 Rumi Utsugi
 Carli Lloyd
 Megan Rapinoe
 Élodie Thomis
 Anja Mittag
 Célia Šašić
File:Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg.png Ramona Bachmann

### Dream Team

The Dream Team elected by users of fifa.com consists of the following players and manager:

 Wendie Renard
 Julie Johnston
 Ali Krieger
 Carli Lloyd
 Megan Rapinoe
 Célia Šašić
 Alex Morgan

## Prize money

The total prize money offered by FIFA for the tournament was US$15 million, which represents 2.6% of the total prize money for the 2014 Men's World Cup ($576 million).

The winning team, United States, received $2 million, representing 5.7% of the amount received by Germany for winning the 2014 Men's World Cup ($35 million).

## Tournament ranking

Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-out are counted as draws.
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Source: FIFA.com[*citation needed*]
### Qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics

Same as the qualification process for previous Olympics, UEFA uses the World Cup to determine which women's national teams from Europe qualify for the Olympic football tournament. Three places in the 2016 Summer Olympics women's football tournament, to be held in Brazil, are reserved for teams from Europe. These are filled by the UEFA teams that progress the furthest in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, other than ineligible England. Two places went to France and Germany, the only UEFA quarter-finalists besides England. The third best finish was a tie between four teams eliminated in the round of 16: Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. No tiebreaker criteria based on World Cup Finals performances was used: instead a play-off tournament in March 2016 determined UEFA's third Olympic qualifier. Sweden won the tournament and qualified for the last available Olympic spot from Europe.

Even though England were one of the top three UEFA teams in the World Cup, they were not eligible to play at the Olympics. The English Football Association (FA) is affiliated to the British Olympic Association and on 2 March 2015 said it wanted a British Olympic team to compete if England earned a place. Following strong objections from the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations, and a commitment from FIFA that they would not allow entry of a British team unless all four Home Nations agreed, the FA announced on 30 March 2015 that they would not seek entry into the Olympic tournament. Similar circumstances prevented them from playing in the 2008 Olympics, when England finished as one of the top three UEFA teams in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. Great Britain did compete in 2012 as the host nation.

## Controversies

All of the tournament's venues had fields composed of artificial turf, which some players believe results in a higher risk of injuries to players. More than 50 players protested the use of the surface instead of grass on the basis of gender discrimination. They filed a lawsuit challenging FIFA's decision to play on artificial turf, claiming FIFA would never allow the men's World Cup to be played on "unsafe" artificial turf and thus the organizers had violated the Canadian Human Rights Act. 2012 Women's World Player of the Year Abby Wambach noted "The men would strike playing on artificial turf." The controversial issue of gender equality and an equal playing field for all sparked debate in many countries around the world. An application filed on 1 October 2014 with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal by a group of women's international soccer players against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association noted that, in 1994, FIFA spent $2 million to plant natural grass over artificial turf in New Jersey and Detroit. Some celebrities and prominent players showed their support for the women soccer players in defence of their lawsuit, including United States men's team keeper Tim Howard. Even with the possibility of boycotts, FIFA's head of women's competitions, Tatjana Haenni, made it clear "We play on artificial turf and there's no Plan B." In January 2015, the lawsuit was withdrawn by the players.

Fox commentator Julie Stewart-Binks measured the turf temperature at several games. On 21 June at the Canada vs Switzerland round of 16 game in Vancouver, she reported that her thermometer was "officially broken". Her thermometer appears to max out at 120 °F (49 °C).

During the tournament, Australian striker Michelle Heyman slammed the playing conditions, saying the turf is like "walking on hot coals" and the players feet "just turn white, your skin is all ripped off".

Prior to the start of the Australia vs Japan quarterfinal in Edmonton on 27 June, Fox commentator Kyndra de St. Aubin measured the air temperature at 82 °F (28 °C) and the turf temperature at 150 °F (66 °C). Despite such dangerous conditions, officials decided against taking cooling breaks during the match because the air temperature was under 32 °C (90 °F). As the game wore on, players appeared noticeably exhausted due to the playing conditions.

Attendance was largely inflated by FIFA as single tickets were sold for double-headers during the group stages. "This allows FIFA to report the combined attendance for both matches as the attendance for each match when in reality the true attendance for one or both matches is likely to be much different."

## Broadcasting

 File:Fox Sports studio in Vancouver for 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup (18875089463).jpg
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was one of the first FIFA tournaments under new rights deals in two North American markets. In its host country of Canada, Bell Media acquired the broadcast rights; the competition was televised by CTV and TSN in English, as well as Réseau des sports (RDS) in French. In the United States, English-language television rights were held by Fox Sports with coverage carried on the main Fox broadcast network, along with the Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2 pay TV channels. Spanish-language rights were held by Telemundo and sister cable network NBC Universo. Fox constructed a temporary studio for the Women's World Cup at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver, located outside the Vancouver Convention Centre.

In December 2014, the European Broadcasting Union extended its rights to FIFA tournaments for its members in 37 countries, including the 2015 Women's World Cup. In the United Kingdom, all matches from the tournament were shown by the BBC via BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Red Button on TV and Radio 5 Live on radio. In Australia, SBS aired all 52 matches live online, and televised 41 matches live, with the only matches not televised live being those which aired concurrently.

## Mascot and sponsors

On 17 June 2014, the mascot of the tournament, Shuéme, a female great white owl was unveiled at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.

The five top-tier sponsors were Coca-Cola, Adidas, Hyundai–Kia, Visa, and Gazprom. In the final week of the tournament, the Canadian government added Gazprom to a list of organizations sanctioned for supporting the Russian annexation of Crimea. Media suggested the addition was delayed to reduce embarrassment to FIFA.

## References

1. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ - Matches - USA-Japan - FIFA.com". *FIFA.com*. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kessel, Anna. "Biggest Women's World Cup to kick off in Canada amid surface tension". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
3. ↑ "USA Draws The 'Group of Death' In 2015 Women's World Cup". Five Thirty Eight. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
4. ↑ "Women's World Cup: Hawk-Eye used in Canada tournament". BBC Sport. 31 March 2015.
5. ↑ "Hawk-Eye confirmed as goal-line technology provider for Canada 2015". FIFA.com. 31 March 2015.
6. ↑ Rubin, Josh. "Women drop artificial turf complaint over 2015 World Cup in Canada". Toronto Star. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
7. ↑ "Remarkable interest in hosting FIFA competitions". FIFA. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
8. ↑ cbc.ca; Canada in mix for 2015 Women's World Cup; 17 January 2010
9. ↑ "Zimbabwe withdraws bid to host 2015 Women's World Cup". BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
10. ↑ Reed, Nigel (21 February 2011). "2015: The case for Canada". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
11. ↑ MacKinnon, John (1 December 2010). "The party's over … what's next?". *Edmonton Journal*. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
12. ↑ "Qualification slots for Canada 2015 confirmed". FIFA.com. 11 June 2012.
13. ↑ "FIFA Disciplinary Committee decisions for Germany 2011". 25 August 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
14. ↑ "Women's Ranking (27 March 2015)". FIFA.com. 27 March 2015.
15. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ Host Cities unveiled". FIFA.com. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
16. ↑ "No Halifax stadium for soccer World Cup". The Chronicle Herald. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
17. ↑ "Canadian host cities for 2015 Women's World Cup unveiled". CBC.ca. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
18. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ Destination: Winnipeg". FIFA. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
19. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ Destination: Ottawa". FIFA. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
20. ↑ "FIFA visit to Moncton stadium overshadowed by turf lawsuit". CBC News. 2 October 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
21. ↑ Fox Sports. "USWNT stars not backing down on artificial playing surface stance". *Fox Sports*. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
22. ↑ "elite female players sue". *espnW*. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
23. ↑ "FIFA: The World Cup Should Be Played on Natural Grass". Retrieved 9 October 2014.
24. ↑ "Equalizer Soccer – Players officially file lawsuit against FIFA, CSA over artificial turf at 2015 Women's World Cup". Retrieved 9 October 2014.
25. ↑ "Elite players file application with Ontario human rights body alleging gender discrimination over artificial turf at 2015 Women's World Cup". National Post. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
26. ↑ "Players file lawsuit in Canada over artificial Women's World Cup turf". *Global News*. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
27. ↑ "FIFA officials to inspect BC Place turf in light of controversy". *Global News*. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
28. ↑ "Women's World Cup players withdraw 'turf war' lawsuit against FIFA, Canada Soccer Association". *Washington Post*. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
29. ↑ "Canada vs Switzerland". *Twitter*. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
30. ↑ "Matildas say synthetic turf 'like hot coals'". *Sydney Morning Herald*. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
31. ↑ "Australia vs Japan quarterfinal". *Twitter*. 27 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 "Regulations FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™" (PDF). FIFA.com.
33. ↑ "Stellar names lined up for Canada 2015". FIFA.com. 28 May 2015.
34. ↑ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™ – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com.
35. ↑ "Japan legend Sawa makes cut for sixth World Cup". Reuters. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
36. ↑ "22 referees, 7 support referees and 44 assistant referees appointed for FIFA Women's World Cup 2015™". FIFA.com. 30 March 2015.
37. ↑ "Referees and Assistant Referees for the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™" (PDF). FIFA.com.
38. ↑ "Final Draw to take place on 6 December". FIFA.com. 22 June 2014.
39. ↑ "Details of Final Draw for Canada 2015". FIFA.com. 5 December 2014.
40. ↑ FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 match schedule published. FIFA.com. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
41. ↑ "Match Schedule FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015" (PDF). FIFA.com. 16 February 2015.
42. ↑ "Statistics – Players – Top goals". FIFA.com.
43. ↑ "Awards". FIFA.com.
44. ↑ "Lloyd, Solo and Sasic lead the way". FIFA.com. 6 July 2015.
45. ↑ "FIFA announces shortlists for FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 awards". FIFA.com. 2 July 2015.
46. ↑ "Canada 2015 Technical Report published, All-Star Squad announced". *FIFA.com*.
47. ↑ "2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Dream Team". *FIFA.com*.
48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 BBC Sport, Canada 2015: Prize money doubled for World Cup winners, 20 December 2014
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 "World Cup money pot increased to $576m". reuters.com. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
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## External links

* FIFA Women's World Cup
* FIFA Technical Report

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