2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup
France, the 2013 champions, were unable to defend their title as they failed to reach the final round of the UEFA qualifying tournament. In doing so, they became the fourth consecutive incumbent title holder to fail to qualify for the subsequent tournament.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Serbia won the final against Brazil 2–1, becoming the first team representing the country to win a FIFA competition title since their independence from Yugoslavia and the dissolution of Serbia and Montenegro. Yugoslavia previously won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Host selection
Four FIFA member associations officially submitted their bids to host the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup by the deadline of 11 February 2011. On 3 March 2011, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held for the first time in New Zealand. This is the third FIFA competition staged in this country, after the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship and the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Venues
Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Whangarei were the 7 cities chosen to host the competition.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Venues
Before the stadium announcements were made, Dunedin City council suggested in January 2013, that it would not bid to host matches at Forsyth Barr Stadium (also known as Otago Stadium) unless the costs (an estimated $1m) could be lowered. The stadium hosted seven matches there, the last of which being a Round of 16 game.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Qualified teams
In addition to host nation New Zealand, 23 nations qualified from six separate continental competitions.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Draw and schedule
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:


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Draw and schedule
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.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Draw and schedule
New Zealand (Group A) Argentina (Group B) Qatar (Group C) Mexico (Group D) Nigeria (Group E) Germany (Group F)


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Draw and schedule
The schedule of the tournament was unveiled on 20 November 2013.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Match officials
A total of 21 referees, 6 support referees, and 42 assistant referees were selected for the tournament.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Squads
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.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Squads
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.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Group stage
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:


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Group stage
If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Group stage, Ranking of third-placed teams
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.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Knockout stage
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.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Knockout stage
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.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. They were all sponsored by Adidas, except for the FIFA Fair Play Award.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Final ranking
As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Organization, Emblem and mascot
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.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Organization, Ticketing
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.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Organization, Ticketing
In the first three months of tickets going on sale to residents, an estimated 25,000 were sold.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup squads
The following is the squad list for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Each squad consisted of 21 players in total, 3 of whom had to be goalkeepers.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup squads
Those marked in bold have been capped at full International level.


2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup squads, Group E, Brazil
Alexandre Gallo was Brazil's coach when the players list was released. He was eventually fired on 8 May and replaced by Rogério Micale. Kenedy was forced out of the squad due to appendicitis and Malcom was called as his replacement on May 17.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the first time and by a North American country for the third time. Matches were played in six cities across Canada in five time zones. The tournament began on 6 June 2015, and finished with the final on 5 July 2015 with a United States victory over Japan.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
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, even though there were some initial concerns over a possible increased risk of injuries.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, 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:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Host selection
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 was also ongoing political and economic instability in the country.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Host selection
The selected host, 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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Qualification
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:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Qualification
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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Qualification, Qualified teams
The latest published FIFA Rankings prior to the tournament (March 2015) are shown in brackets.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, 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. Seating capacities shown in table below are as configured for these FIFA games.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Venues, Innovations
The tournament introduced goal-line technology with the Hawk-Eye system by which it is possible to show on the stadium screen if the ball was in or not. 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 (please see below) 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.


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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Squads
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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Match officials
A total of 29 referees/support referees and 44 assistant referees were selected for the tournament.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, 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. Despite having a lower FIFA ranking, Brazil was seeded ahead of Sweden for geographical reasons.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Draw
Before the draw, the Organizing Committee placed the seeded teams in the following groups: Germany in Group B, Japan in Group C, United States in Group D, Brazil in Group E, and France in Group F; Canada were already in Group A as the tournament host. Not drawing the groups for the seeded teams has drawn some criticism. A FIFA spokesperson later confirmed that teams were allocated to certain groups for promotional reasons.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Group stage
The 24 teams of the tournament were arranged into 6 groups labelled A to F. 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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Group stage
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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Group stage, Tiebreakers
The ranking of each team in each group were determined as follows:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Group stage, Ranking of third-placed teams
The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advanced to the knockout stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Knockout stage
The knockout stage comprises the 16 teams that advanced from the group stage of the tournament. There are four rounds of matches, with each round eliminating half of the teams entering that round. The successive rounds are the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. There is also a match to decide third and fourth place. For each game in the knockout stage, any draw at 90 minutes is followed by 30 minutes of extra time; if scores are still level, there is a penalty shootout to determine who progresses to the next round. Single yellow cards accrued will be cancelled after the quarter-finals, therefore ensuring that no players miss the Final because of receiving a caution in the semi-finals.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Knockout stage
Three spots in the 2016 Summer Olympics women's football tournament were filled by the UEFA teams that progress the furthest in the tournament, other than England. Two spots went to France and Germany which both reached the quarter-finals. The third spot was a tie between four teams eliminated in the round of 16: Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. A play-off tournament in March 2016 determined UEFA's third Olympic qualifier to be Sweden.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. The Golden Ball (best overall player), Golden Boot (top scorer) and Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) awards were sponsored by Adidas, while the Best Young Player and Goal of the Tournament awards were sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company. FIFA.com shortlisted twelve goals for users to vote on as the tournaments' best, with the poll closing on 13 July 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Awards
On 2 July 2015, following the semi-finals, FIFA announced the shortlists for three of the tournament awards. The following candidates were ultimately not selected:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Awards, All-Star Squad
The All-Star Squad elected by FIFA's Technical Study Group consists of the following players:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Awards, All-Star Squad
Kadeisha Buchanan  Lucy Bronze  Steph Houghton  Wendie Renard  Saori Ariyoshi  Julie Johnston  Meghan Klingenberg


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Awards, All-Star Squad
Elise Kellond-Knight  Amandine Henry  Eugénie Le Sommer  Aya Miyama  Mizuho Sakaguchi  Rumi Utsugi  Carli Lloyd  Megan Rapinoe


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Awards, All-Star Squad
Lisa De Vanna  Élodie Thomis  Anja Mittag  Célia Šašić  Ramona Bachmann


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Awards, Dream Team
The Dream Team elected by users of fifa.com consists of the following players and manager:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Awards, 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).


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 146 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 2.81 goals per match. Célia Šašić of Germany and Carli Lloyd of the United States finished as the top scorers with six goals.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Statistics, Assists
Lena Goeßling of Germany won the assists table with four assists.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Statistics, Tournament ranking
Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, 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."


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Controversies
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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Controversies
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).


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Controversies
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".


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Controversies
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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Controversies
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."


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Broadcasting
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, and 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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Broadcasting
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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, 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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Mascot and sponsors
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.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final was a women's association football match that took place on 5 July 2015 at BC Place, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to determine the winner of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. It was played between Japan and the United States, in a rematch of the 2011 final.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
The stakes were high for both sides: if the United States won the match, it would be the only country to have won in three Women's World Cup finals; if Japan had won instead, then it would be the first football team, men's or women's, to win twice under the same coach (Norio Sasaki for Japan) since Vittorio Pozzo led Italy to victory in the 1934 World Cup and the 1938 World Cup. Ultimately, the United States won 5–2, winning its first title in 16 years and becoming the first team to win three Women's World Cup finals.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final
Because of the expanded competition format, it was the first time the finalists had played a seventh game in the tournament. The United States had previously reached the final game three times, winning twice (in 1991 and 1999) and placing as runners up in 2011. This was Japan's second successive final appearance and was their attempt to be the first country to successfully defend a title since Germany in the 2007 World Cup. Both teams were undefeated throughout the tournament, with the United States only conceding one goal in the six matches leading up to the final and Japan winning all of their matches in regular time.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Background
Before this tournament, the two finalists had met each other three times in World Cup play. The United States beat Japan 3–0 in the group stage in 1991 and won 4–0 in a 1995 quarter-final match, while Japan bettered the United States 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out in the 2011 World Cup final after the match was tied 2–2 after extra time. The United States won the final 2–1 in the gold medal match at the 2012 Summer Olympics.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Background
The last meeting between the two teams was at the 2014 Algarve Cup, which ended in 0–0 draw, after the previous Algarve Cup between the two teams was won by Japan 1–0. Both the United States and Japan began the 2015 Women's World Cup as favorites to win the tournament. The United States was ranked second in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, while Japan was ranked fourth.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Background
The United States entered the 2015 final as two-time World champions, having won the first and third installments of the Women's World Cup. The United States were the first crowned champions at the inaugural 1991 edition of the Women's World Cup, held in China. They beat Norway 2–1 in the final, with two goals from Michelle Akers. In the 1999 final, host nation United States and China played to a scoreless draw. After extra time, the United States won the match with a 5–4 penalties victory.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Background
The 2015 final was Japan's second consecutive time contesting a World Cup final. Their first and only win was at the expense of the United States in the 2011 Women's World Cup, held in Germany. It was also the third consecutive time that a major women's football tournament final featured Japan and the United States, after the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Olympics.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Background
On 30 June 2015, FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced that he would not travel to Vancouver to attend the final, leaving FIFA vice-president Issa Hayatou to present the trophy at the final to the champion.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Route to the final
The United States reached the final undefeated and only conceded one goal in the six matches leading up to the final. The squad was drawn into Group D of the Women's World Cup, along with Australia, Sweden and Nigeria. The United States' first match against Australia was played at Winnipeg Stadium. After Megan Rapinoe scored an early goal, Australia managed to equalize. Two goals in the second half saw the United States take all three points in their first match. The United States played their second match against Sweden in Winnipeg.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Route to the final
After a goalless 90 minutes, both teams walked away with a point apiece. In their final group match, the United States played Nigeria at a sold out BC Place. A single goal from captain Abby Wambach in the 45th minute was enough for the United States to progress to the round of 16 stage as group winners to face Group F third-placed team Colombia. A 53rd-minute goal by Alex Morgan and penalty converted by Carli Lloyd in the 66th minute saw the end the game 2–0. In the quarter-final, the United States took on China in Lansdowne Stadium. A goal by Carli Lloyd saw the game end 1–0. The United States were matched up against number one ranked Germany in the semi-finals. Goals by Carli Lloyd and Kelley O'Hara in the Olympic Stadium ended the match 2–0, with the United States progressing to the 2015 final.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Route to the final
Japan reached the final undefeated and conceded only three goals. They were drawn into Group C along with Switzerland, Cameroon and Ecuador. Japan's World Cup run started in the opening match of the tournament against Switzerland in Vancouver. A 29th-minute penalty from captain Aya Miyama secured all three points for Japan. In their second match, Japan played Cameroon. Goals from Aya Sameshima and Yuika Sugasawa gave Japan a 2–1 win. Japan's final group stage match was against Ecuador in Winnipeg ended in 1–0, thanks to a fifth-minute goal by Yūki Ōgimi.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Route to the final
After winning their group, Japan next faced Group A third-placed team Netherlands in the round of 16. Goals at either side of the break, by Saori Ariyoshi and Mizuho Sakaguchi, saw the match end 2–1. In the quarter-finals, Japan faced 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup Final opponents Australia in Commonwealth Stadium. An 87th-minute goal by Mana Iwabuchi was enough to ensure Japan reached the next round. In the semi-finals, Japan faced England in Edmonton. Two penalties in the first half and an own goal by Laura Bassett in the 92nd minute ended the match at 2–1 to send Japan into their second consecutive World Cup final.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Match, Summary
The match was played under hazy conditions due to nearby wildfires and winds that carried the smoke towards the Lower Mainland region. The United States struck early, scoring four goals in the first 16 minutes. Three of those goals were scored by midfielder Carli Lloyd, giving her the fastest hat-trick in World Cup history. Lloyd's first goal at the 3rd minute was the fastest in a Women's World Cup final, as she drove in a corner kick from Megan Rapinoe. Her goal also marked the first time Japan had trailed throughout the tournament.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Lloyd again scored in the 5th minute off of a free kick from Lauren Holiday. Holiday scored in the 14th minute after Japan defender Azusa Iwashimizu failed to clear the ball on a header and turned over possession. Lloyd's goal in the 16th minute, which Reuters called "one of the most remarkable goals ever witnessed in a Women's World Cup", was struck from the halfway line, catching Japan goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori out of position.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Match, Summary
The stunning goal was nominated for the FIFA Puskás Award and meant Lloyd became the first woman to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final and the first player, male or female, to do so since Geoff Hurst did so for England against West Germany in the 1966 final at Wembley.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Striker Yūki Ōgimi scored with a left-footed shot to give Japan's first goal in the 27th minute, outmaneuvering United States defender Julie Johnston. Japan coach Norio Sasaki then responded tactically by introducing two first half substitutes, introducing midfielder Homare Sawa on for Iwashimizu and replacing winger Nahomi Kawasumi for striker Yuika Sugasawa. An own goal off the head of Johnston from an Aya Miyama free kick added to Japan's scoreline in the second half, at the 52nd minute.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Midfielder Tobin Heath scored the final goal of the game off of a pass from Morgan Brian for the United States two minutes later. The combined seven goals were the most in Women's World Cup final history, and ties the record for most goals in any men's or women's World Cup final with the men's 1958 FIFA World Cup Final, in which Brazil defeated Sweden 5–2.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Nataliya Rachynska (Ukraine)Yolanda Parga (Spain)Fourth official:Claudia Umpierrez (Uruguay)Fifth official:Loreto Toloza (Chile)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Outcome
The final broke multiple records. The goals by Carli Lloyd in the 3rd, 5th and 16th minutes made her the first player to score a hat trick in a Women's World Cup's Final, second in either men's or women's final and the fastest from kickoff in either men's or women's World Cup tournament. Yūki Ōgimi's goal in the twenty-seventh minute ended a United States streak at 540 minutes of not conceding a goal, tying a World Cup record of Germany in 2007.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Outcome
Homare Sawa, a member of the Japanese 2011 winning team, was introduced in the first half of the game. Christie Rampone, the only player remaining from the United States 1999 winning team, and Abby Wambach came on as subs late in the game. This is expected to have been the final World Cup appearance for all three. Rampone also became the oldest player to play in a Women's World Cup match, at the age of 40 years.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Outcome
It also marked the first time since 1999 the United States held two major trophies in women's football (the Olympics medal and the World Cup). The United States also overtook Germany as the highest-scoring team in women's World Cup history.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Outcome
The 5–2 scoreline set a record for the highest number of goals scored in a Women's World Cup final, and equaled the score of a match played between the United States and Japan at the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Outcome
On U.S. television, the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup shattered viewing records for soccer – played by men or women. With the Fox Network reporting 25.4 million viewers and Spanish-language Telemundo reporting 1.3 million viewers, the combined 26.7 million viewers made the final the most-watched soccer game in American history.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Outcome
As prize money for their victory, the US team was awarded $2 million. This paled in comparison to the 2014 men's champion, Germany, who received $35 million.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, Outcome
On 11 July, the World Cup win was celebrated with ticker-tape parade in New York City. It was the first time a team of female athletes were honored with a ticker-tape parade in the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan, and the first ticker-tape parade in New York City to honor female athletes since Olympic Athletes in 1984. At the parade, Mayor Bill de Blasio handed the team keys to the city at a ceremony at City Hall.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A
Group A of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of hosts Canada, China, New Zealand and the Netherlands. Matches were played from 6 to 15 June 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A, Matches, Canada vs China PR
Assistant referees:Nataliya Rachynska (Ukraine)Sanja Rođak-Karšić (Croatia)Fourth official:Stéphanie Frappart (France)Fifth official:Manuela Nicolosi (France)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A, Matches, New Zealand vs Netherlands
Assistant referees:Mayte Chávez (Mexico)Enedina Caudillo (Mexico)Fourth official:Melissa Borjas (Honduras)Fifth official:Manuela Nicolosi (France)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A, Matches, China PR vs Netherlands
Assistant referees:Janette Arcanjo (Brazil)Liliana Bejarano (Bolivia)Fourth official:Lucila Venegas (Mexico)Fifth official:Loreto Toloza (Chile)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A, Matches, Canada vs New Zealand
Assistant referees:Katrin Rafalski (Germany)Marina Wozniak (Germany)Fourth official:Abirami Naidu (Singapore)Fifth official:Loreto Toloza (Chile)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A, Matches, Netherlands vs Canada
Assistant referees:Hong Kum-nyo (North Korea)Kim Kyoung-min (South Korea)Fourth official:Teodora Albon (Romania)Fifth official:Petruța Iugulescu (Romania)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group A, Matches, China PR vs New Zealand
Assistant referees:Katrin Rafalski (Germany)Marina Wozniak (Germany)Fourth official:Abirami Naidu (Singapore)Fifth official:Anna Nyström (Sweden)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B
Group B of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of Germany, Ivory Coast, Norway and Thailand. Matches were played from 7 to 15 June 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B, Matches, Norway vs Thailand
Assistant referees:Sarah Walker (New Zealand)Lata Kaumatule (Tonga)Fourth official:Ledya Tafesse (Ethiopia)Fifth official:Petruța Iugulescu (Romania)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B, Matches, Germany vs Ivory Coast
Assistant referees:Marie-Josée Charbonneau (Canada)Suzanne Morisset (Canada)Fourth official:Michelle Pye (Canada)Fifth official:Petruța Iugulescu (Romania)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B, Matches, Germany vs Norway
Assistant referees:Petruța Iugulescu (Romania)Mária Súkeníková (Slovakia)Fourth official:Anna-Marie Keighley (New Zealand)Fifth official:Lata Kaumatule (Tonga)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B, Matches, Ivory Coast vs Thailand
Assistant referees:Princess Brown (Jamaica)Elizabeth Aguilar (El Salvador)Fourth official:Olga Miranda (Paraguay)Fifth official:Lata Kaumatule (Tonga)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B, Matches, Thailand vs Germany
Assistant referees:Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (Madagascar)Bernadettar Kwimbira (Malawi)Fourth official:Pernilla Larsson (Sweden)Fifth official:Anna Nyström (Sweden)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group B, Matches, Ivory Coast vs Norway
Assistant referees:Maria Rocco (Argentina)Mariana de Almeida (Argentina)Fourth official:Ledya Tafesse (Ethiopia)Fifth official:Mana Dzodope (Togo)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C
Group C of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon and Ecuador. Matches were played from 8 to 16 June 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C, Matches, Cameroon vs Ecuador
Cameroon's 6–0 win is the biggest ever win by a team in their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup match, breaking the record of Italy, who beat Chinese Taipei 5–0 in 1991.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C, Matches, Cameroon vs Ecuador
Assistant referees:Natalie Aspinall (England)Anna Nyström (Sweden)Fourth official:Tupou Patia (Cook Islands)Fifth official:Katrin Rafalski (Germany)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C, Matches, Japan vs Switzerland
Assistant referees:Kimberly Moreira (Costa Rica)Shirley Perello (Honduras)Fourth official:Yeimy Martinez (Colombia)Fifth official:Janette Arcanjo (Brazil)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C, Matches, Switzerland vs Ecuador
Assistant referees:Widiya Shamsuri (Malaysia)Sarah Ho (Australia)Fourth official:Gladys Lengwe (Zambia)Fifth official:Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (Madagascar)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C, Matches, Japan vs Cameroon
Assistant referees:Anna Nyström (Sweden)Natalie Aspinall (England)Fourth official:Tupou Patia (Cook Islands)Fifth official:Bernadettar Kwimbira (Malawi)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C, Matches, Ecuador vs Japan
Assistant referees:Yolanda Parga (Spain)Manuela Nicolosi (France)Fourth official:Quetzalli Alvarado (Mexico)Fifth official:Shirley Perello (Honduras)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group C, Matches, Switzerland vs Cameroon
Assistant referees:Luciana Mascaraña (Uruguay)Loreto Toloza (Chile)Fourth official:Yeimy Martinez (Colombia)Fifth official:Janette Arcanjo (Brazil)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D
Group D of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of the United States, Australia, Sweden and Nigeria. Matches were played from 8 to 16 June 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D, Matches, Sweden vs Nigeria
Assistant referees:Hong Kum-nyo (North Korea)Kim Kyoung-min (South Korea)Fourth official:Abirami Naidu (Singapore)Fifth official:Widiya Shamsuri (Malaysia)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D, Matches, United States vs Australia
Assistant referees:Luciana Mascaraña (Uruguay)Loreto Toloza (Chile)Fourth official:Gladys Lengwe (Zambia)Fifth official:Widiya Shamsuri (Malaysia)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D, Matches, Australia vs Nigeria
Assistant referees:Manuela Nicolosi (France)Yolanda Parga (Spain)Fourth official:Quetzalli Alvarado (Mexico)Fifth official:Souad Oulhaj (Morocco)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D, Matches, United States vs Sweden
Assistant referees:Naomi Teshirogi (Japan)Sarah Walker (New Zealand)Fourth official:Ledya Tafesse (Ethiopia)Fifth official:Souad Oulhaj (Morocco)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D, Matches, Nigeria vs United States
Assistant referees:Nataliya Rachynska (Ukraine)Sanja Rođak-Karšić (Croatia)Fourth official:Rita Gani (Malaysia)Fifth official:Widiya Shamsuri (Malaysia)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group D, Matches, Australia vs Sweden
Assistant referees:Mayte Chávez (Mexico)Enedina Caudillo (Mexico)Fourth official:Tupou Patia (Cook Islands)Fifth official:Janette Arcanjo (Brazil)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E
Group E of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of Brazil, South Korea, Spain and Costa Rica. Matches were played from 9 to 17 June 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E, Matches, Spain vs Costa Rica
Assistant referees:Maria Rocco (Argentina)Mariana de Almeida (Argentina)Fourth official:Olga Miranda (Paraguay)Fifth official:Allyson Flynn (Australia)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E, Matches, Brazil vs South Korea
Assistant referees:Ella de Vries (Belgium)Lucie Ratajová (Czech Republic)Fourth official:Carina Vitulano (Italy)Fifth official:Tonja Paavola (Finland)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E, Matches, Brazil vs Spain
Assistant referees:Marie-Josée Charbonneau (Canada)Suzanne Morisset (Canada)Fourth official:Margaret Domka (United States)Fifth official:Princess Brown (Jamaica)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E, Matches, South Korea vs Costa Rica
Assistant referees:Michelle O'Neill (Republic of Ireland)Tonja Paavola (Finland)Fourth official:Olga Miranda (Paraguay)Fifth official:Chrysoula Kourompylia (Greece)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E, Matches, Costa Rica vs Brazil
Assistant referees:Chrysoula Kourompylia (Greece)Angela Kyriakou (Cyprus)Fourth official:Olga Miranda (Paraguay)Fifth official:Souad Oulhaj (Morocco)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group E, Matches, South Korea vs Spain
Assistant referees:Sarah Walker (New Zealand)Allyson Flynn (Australia)Fourth official:Margaret Domka (United States)Fifth official:Cui Yongmei (China)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F
Group F of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup consisted of France, England, Colombia and Mexico. Matches were played from 9 to 17 June 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F, Matches, France vs England
Assistant referees:Chrysoula Kourompylia (Greece)Angela Kyriakou (Cyprus)Fourth official:Michelle Pye (Canada)Fifth official:Suzanne Morisset (Canada)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F, Matches, Colombia vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Ayawa Dzodope (Togo)Souad Oulhaj (Morocco)Fourth official:Ledya Tafesse (Ethiopia)Fifth official:Suzanne Morisset (Canada)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F, Matches, France vs Colombia
Assistant referees:Cui Yongmei (China)Fang Yan (China)Fourth official:Michelle Pye (Canada)Fifth official:María Rocco (Argentina)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F, Matches, England vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Allyson Flynn (Australia)Lata Kaumatule (Tonga)Fourth official:Salomé di Iorio (Argentina)Fifth official:María Rocco (Argentina)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F, Matches, Mexico vs France
Assistant referees:Naomi Teshirogi (Japan)Fang Yan (China)Fourth official:Qin Liang (China)Fifth official:Cui Yongmei (China)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Group F, Matches, England vs Colombia
Assistant referees:Marie-Josée Charbonneau (Canada)Suzanne Morisset (Canada)Fourth official:Michelle Pye (Canada)Fifth official:Princess Brown (Jamaica)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage
The knockout stage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup began on 20 June and ended with the final match on 5 July 2015. A total of 16 teams competed in this knockout stage.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Format
The knockout stage comprises the 16 teams that advanced from the group stage of the tournament. There are four rounds of matches, with each round eliminating half of the teams entering that round. The successive rounds are the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. There is also a match to decide third and fourth place. For each game in the knockout stage, any draw at 90 minutes is followed by 30 minutes of extra time; if scores are still level, there is a penalty shootout to determine who progresses to the next round. Single yellow cards accrued will be cancelled after the quarter-finals, therefore ensuring that no players miss the Final because of receiving a caution in the semi-finals.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Format, Combinations of matches in the round of 16
The third-placed teams which advanced will be placed with the winners of groups A, B, C and D according to a table published in Section 28 of the tournament regulations.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Qualified teams
The top two teams of each preliminary group and the four best-ranked third place teams advanced to the knockout stage.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Germany vs Sweden
Assistant referees:Hong Kum-nyo (North Korea)Widiya Shamsuri (Malaysia)Fourth official:Carina Vitulano (Italy)Fifth official:Fang Yan (China)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, China PR vs Cameroon
Assistant referees:Katrin Rafalski (Germany)Marina Wozniak (Germany)Fourth official:Rita Gani (Malaysia)Fifth official:Sarah Ho (Australia)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Australia
Assistant referees:Petruța Iugulescu (Romania)Mária Súkeníková (Slovakia)Fourth official:Therese Neguel (Cameroon)Fifth official:Mana Dzodope (Togo)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, France vs South Korea
Assistant referees:Maria Rocco (Argentina)Mariana de Almeida (Argentina)Fourth official:Olga Miranda (Paraguay)Fifth official:Elizabeth Aguilar (El Salvador)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Canada vs Switzerland
Assistant referees:Sarah Walker (New Zealand)Allyson Flynn (Australia)Fourth official:Gladys Lengwe (Zambia)Fifth official:Lidwine Rakotozafinoro (Madagascar)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Norway vs England
Assistant referees:Ella de Vries (Belgium)Lucie Ratajová (Czech Republic)Fourth official:Efthalia Mitsi (Greece)Fifth official:Chrysoula Kourompylia (Greece)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, United States vs Colombia
Assistant referees:Manuela Nicolosi (France)Yolanda Parga (Spain)Fourth official:Abirami Naidu (Singapore)Fifth official:Sarah Ho (Australia)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Japan vs Netherlands
Assistant referees:Mayte Chávez (Mexico)Enedina Caudillo (Mexico)Fourth official:Claudia Umpierrez (Uruguay)Fifth official:Luciana Mascaraña (Uruguay)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Germany vs France
Assistant referees:Marie-Josée Charbonneau (Canada)Suzanne Morisset (Canada)Fourth official:Efthalia Mitsi (Greece)Fifth official:Chrysoula Kourompylia (Greece)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, China PR vs United States
Assistant referees:Michelle O'Neill (Republic of Ireland)Tonja Paavola (Finland)Fourth official:Salomé di Iorio (Argentina)Fifth official:María Rocco (Argentina)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Australia vs Japan
Assistant referees:Nataliya Rachynska (Ukraine)Sanja Rođak-Karšić (Croatia)Fourth official:Melissa Borjas (Honduras)Fifth official:Shirley Perello (Honduras)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, England vs Canada
Assistant referees:Luciana Mascaraña (Uruguay)Loreto Toloza (Chile)Fourth official:Rita Gani (Malaysia)Fifth official:Widiya Shamsuri (Malaysia)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, United States vs Germany
Assistant referees:Petruța Iugulescu (Romania)Mária Súkeníková (Slovakia)Fourth official:Salomé di Iorio (Argentina)Fifth official:Mariana de Almeida (Argentina)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Japan vs England
Assistant referees:Sarah Walker (New Zealand)Allyson Flynn (Australia)Fourth official:Stéphanie Frappart (France)Fifth official:Manuela Nicolosi (France)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off
Assistant referees:Hong Kum-nyo (North Korea)Kim Kyoung-min (South Korea)Fourth official:Gladys Lengwe (Zambia)Fifth official:Bernadettar Kwimbira (Malawi)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stage, Final
Assistant referees:Nataliya Rachynska (Ukraine)Yolanda Parga (Spain)Fourth official:Claudia Umpierrez (Uruguay)Fifth official:Loreto Toloza (Chile)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
The qualification for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup determined which 23 teams joined Canada, the hosts of the 2015 tournament, to play for the Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
The field was expanded from 16 teams in the 2011 edition to 24 in the 2015 edition. As a result, a new distribution of slots to each confederation was announced by FIFA on 11 June 2012:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification
A record of 134 FIFA member nations (not counting Canada) entered the qualifying tournaments. Additionally two non-FIFA nations entered the CONCACAF qualifying. Four African teams withdrew before playing any match.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC
As in the previous World Cup cycle, the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup served as the qualifying tournament. A total of 20 AFC teams competed for five berths.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC
The final tournament, held in Vietnam from 14 to 25 May 2014, was competed by eight teams, four of which – Australia, China, Japan and South Korea – were automatically qualified though their 2010 placement, while the others were determined via a qualification tournament. North Korea was banned from the tournament due to the sanction on their doping cases in 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC, Group stage
The top two teams from each group advanced to the semifinals of the tournament as well as qualifying for the World Cup. The third placed teams advanced to a playoff against each other to determine the fifth and final qualifying team from the AFC.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC, Group stage
Japan, Australia, China and South Korea qualified for the World Cup. Vietnam and Thailand advanced to the fifth-place play-off.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
As in the previous World Cup cycle, the 2014 African Women's Championship served as the qualification tournament for the Women's World Cup. The qualifying saw a record entry of 25 CAF teams (26 if including final tournament host Namibia). Four teams though withdrew before playing any matches.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
A total of eight teams (the host nation and seven teams which came through the qualifying rounds) competed at the final tournament in Namibia from 11 to 25 October 2014. The top three teams of the final tournament qualified for the World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF, Knockout stage
Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast qualified for the World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
(28 teams competing for 3 or 4 berths, host nation Canada also qualifies)


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
As with the previous World Cups, the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship served as the region's qualification tournament. A total of 30 teams entered qualifying, with Martinique and Guadeloupe not eligible for World Cup qualification as they are only members of CONCACAF and not FIFA. Therefore, a total of 28 teams were in contention for the three direct places plus the play-off place against CONMEBOL's Ecuador. Canada did not participate as they already qualified to the World Cup as hosts.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
The final tournament was held in the United States from 15 to 26 October 2014, and the final group draw took place on 5 September. The United States and Mexico received byes to the tournament's final round, where they were joined by Costa Rica and Guatemala from Central America and by Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, and Trinidad and Tobago from the Caribbean zone. Both finalists and the third placed team qualified automatically to the 2015 Women's World Cup. The fourth placed team advanced to play the third placed team from CONMEBOL for an additional World Cup berth. It was announced during the Final Draw on 5 September that Martinique was not able to advance beyond the group round, and that the next best team would have taken their place in the semifinals if they finished in the top two in their group.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF, Knockout stage
United States, Costa Rica and Mexico qualified for the World Cup. Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the CONCACAF–CONMEBOL play-off.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONMEBOL
As with previous World Cup qualifications, the 2014 Copa América Femenina served as the qualification tournament to the World Cup finals.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONMEBOL
All 10 CONMEBOL teams competed in the tournament, held in Ecuador from 11 to 28 September 2014. The top two teams of the second stage qualified directly for the World Cup, while the third placed team advanced to play the fourth placed team from CONCACAF for an additional World Cup berth.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC
As in the previous World Cup cycle, the 2014 OFC Women's Nations Cup served as the qualifying tournament.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC
Only four OFC teams played in the tournament, held in Papua New Guinea from 25 to 29 October 2014. That was fewer than in the last four editions of the tournament. The winner qualified.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
A record 46 UEFA teams entered qualification. The eight lowest teams entered the tournament in the preliminary round and were drawn into two groups of four, played in single round-robin format from 4 to 9 April 2013 in Malta and Lithuania respectively. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the group stage.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
The group stage was played in home-and-away round-robin format from 20 September 2013 to 17 September 2014. All seven group winners qualified directly to the final tournament, while the four runners-ups with the best record against the sides first, third, fourth, and fifth in their groups advanced to play-off matches for the remaining berth.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
The play-off matches were played in home-and-away two-legged format on 25/26 and 29/30 October (semi-finals), and 22/23 and 26/27 November 2014 (finals).


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA, Group stage
Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, England and France qualified for the World Cup. Italy, Scotland, Netherlands and Ukraine advanced to the play-offs.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification, CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off
The play-off was contested between Trinidad and Tobago, CONCACAF's fourth-placed team, and Ecuador, CONMEBOL's third-placed team. The draw for the order of legs was held in Zürich on 22 July 2014. Ecuador hosted the first leg on 8 November 2014, and Trinidad and Tobago hosted the second leg on 2 December 2014.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off)
In the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process, one spot was allocated to the winner of a two-legged play-off between the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF and the third-placed team from CONMEBOL.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off), Summary
The draw for the order of legs was held in Zürich on 22 July 2014. Ecuador hosted the first leg on 8 November 2014, and Trinidad and Tobago hosted the second leg on 2 December 2014.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off), Matches
Ecuador won 1–0 on aggregate and qualified for 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off), Goalscorers
There was 1 goal scored in 2 matches, for an average of 0.5 goals per match.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The European qualifying for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was a women's football tournament organized by UEFA. A record 46 entrants were competing for eight spots. For the first time Albania and Montenegro entered a senior competitive tournament. The first matches were held on 4 April 2013.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Preliminary round
The eight lowest teams entered the tournament in the preliminary round were drawn into two groups of four. The two best placed teams in each group advanced to the next round where they competed among the other thirty-eight teams entered. The preliminary round was drawn on 18 December 2012. Malta and Lithuania as hosts were the only seeded teams. Matches were played from 4 to 9 April 2013.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Group stage
The group stage draw was made on 16 April 2013. Teams played each other twice, once at home and once away. Matches were played from 20 September 2013 to 17 September 2014. All seven group winners advanced directly to the final tournament, while the four runners-up with the best record against the sides first, third, fourth, and fifth in their groups advanced to play-off matches on 25/26 and 29/30 October and 22/23 and 26/27 November 2014 for the remaining berth.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Group stage, Seeding
Seeding was based on results in three tournaments, the UEFA Women's Euro 2009 qualifying, 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying, each with their qualification results included.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Group stage, Seeding
Switzerland Poland Czech Republic Austria Belgium Republic of Ireland Belarus


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Group stage, Seeding
We report in bold the teams which actually qualified to the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Group stage, Tiebreakers
If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria are applied:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Group stage, Ranking of second-placed teams
Matches against the sixth-placed team in each group are not included in this ranking. As a result, eight matches played by each team counted for the purposes of the second-placed table.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Group stage, Ranking of second-placed teams
The ranking of the runners-up is determined by the following parameters in this order:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Play-offs
After conclusion of the group stage the four runners-up with the best record against the sides first, third, fourth and fifth in their groups played home and away matches, to determine the last place in the FIFA World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Play-offs
The draw was held on 23 September 2014 at 14:00 local time at Nyon, Switzerland.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA), Play-offs
In the play-off draw, teams are seeded according to their UEFA Women's National Team Coefficient Ranking.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 1 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Croatia, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1
The group winners qualified directly for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Among the seven group runners-up, the four best (determined by records against the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams only for balance between different groups) advanced to the play-offs.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1, Results
All times are CEST (UTC+02:00) during summer and CET (UTC+01:00) during winter.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 2 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, Macedonia, Romania and Spain.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
The group winners qualified directly for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The four best runners-up (determined by records against the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams only for balance between different groups) advanced to the play-offs.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2, Results
All times are CEST (UTC+02:00) during summer and CET (UTC+01:00) during winter.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 3 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Denmark, Iceland, Israel, Malta, Serbia and Switzerland.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
The group winners qualified directly for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Among the seven group runners-up, the four best (determined by records against the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams only for balance between different groups) advanced to the play-offs.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
After winning 9–0 at home against Israel on 14 June 2014, Switzerland qualified for the 2015 Women's World Cup on 15 June after Denmark's match with Iceland ended in a draw, which meant that Switzerland was assured group winners. Switzerland also became the first European nation to qualify for the 2015 Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3, Results
All times are CEST (UTC+02:00) during summer and CET (UTC+01:00) during winter.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by WOSlinker (talk | contribs) at 13:03, 15 January 2020 (move div id tag into football box param). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 4 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Scotland and Sweden.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
The group winners qualified directly for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Among the seven group runners-up, the four best (determined by records against the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams only for balance between different groups) advanced to the play-offs.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4, Results
All times are CEST (UTC+02:00) during summer and CET (UTC+01:00) during winter.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 5 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Albania, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
The group winners qualified directly for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Among the seven group runners-up, the four best (determined by records against the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams only for balance between different groups) advanced to the play-offs. The winner of the group was Norway, with Netherlands proceeding to the play-offs.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5, Results
All times are CEST (UTC+02:00) during summer and CET (UTC+01:00) during winter.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 6 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Belarus, England, Montenegro, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
The group winners qualified directly for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Among the seven group runners-up, the four best (determined by records against the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams only for balance between different groups) advanced to the play-offs.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
England qualified for its third consecutive World Cup on 21 August 2014 after winning 4–0 against Wales.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6, Results
All times are CEST (UTC+02:00) during summer and CET (UTC+01:00) during winter.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6, Results
Game was originally scheduled for 5 April 2014 but moved back due to the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA Group 7 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. The group comprised Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Hungary and Kazakhstan.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7
The group winners qualified directly for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Among the seven group runners-up, the four best (determined by records against the first-, third-, fourth- and fifth-placed teams only for balance between different groups) advanced to the play-offs.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7, Results
All times are CEST (UTC+02:00) during summer and CET (UTC+01:00) during winter.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA play-offs decided the eighth and final UEFA qualifier for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Format
After conclusion of the group stage the four runners-up with the best record against the sides first, third, fourth and fifth in their groups played home and away matches, to determine the last participant in the FIFA World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Format
For each play-off tie, the team that scored more goals on aggregate over the two legs qualified for the final tournament. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule applied, i.e., the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time would be played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Format
The away goals rule was again applied after extra time, i.e., if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team advanced by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie would be decided by penalty shoot-out.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Ranking of second-placed teams
Matches against the sixth-placed team in each group are not included in this ranking. As a result, eight matches played by each team counted for the purposes of the second-placed table.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Ranking of second-placed teams
The ranking of the runners-up is determined by the following parameters in this order:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Draw
The draw was held on 23 September 2014 at 14:00 local time at Nyon, Switzerland.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Draw, Seeding
In the play-off draw, teams were seeded according to their UEFA Women's National Team Coefficient Ranking (shown in brackets).


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Bracket
All times are CEST (UTC+02:00) during summer and CET (UTC+01:00) during winter.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA play-offs, Bracket, Final
Netherlands won 3–2 on aggregate and qualified for 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA preliminary round
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification UEFA preliminary round was the UEFA qualifying preliminary round for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA preliminary round
The eight lowest teams entered the tournament in the preliminary round were drawn into two groups of four. The two best placed teams in each group advanced to the next round where they competed among the other thirty-eight teams entered. The preliminary round was drawn on 18 December 2012. Malta and Lithuania as hosts were the only seeded teams. Matches were played from 4 to 9 April 2013.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA preliminary round, Tiebreakers
If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied:


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads
This is a list of squads of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, an international women's association football tournament that was held in Canada from 6 June until 5 July 2015. The 24 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 23 players, including three goalkeepers. Only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament. The deadline to submit rosters to FIFA was 25 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads
Totals for caps and goals, club affiliations, and ages are as of the opening day of the tournament on 6 June 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group A, Canada
The final 23-player squad was announced on 27 April 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group A, China PR
A 29-player provisional squad was revealed on 17 April 2015, and the roster was reduced into 25 players on 14 May 2015. The final 23-player squad was announced on 28 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group A, Netherlands
The final 23-player squad was announced on 10 May 2015. Claudia van den Heiligenberg was ruled out because on an injury and was replaced by Shanice van de Sanden.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group A, New Zealand
A 20-player squad was announced on 19 March 2015. The final roster was revealed on 14 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group B, Germany
A 27-player preliminary roster was announced on 11 May 2015. The final squad was revealed on 24 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group B, Norway
A 35-player preliminary squad was revealed on 23 April 2015. The final 23-player squad was announced on 13 May. Caroline Graham Hansen was ruled out because on an injury and was replaced by Anja Sønstevold.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group B, Thailand
A 28-player squad was announced on 19 May 2015. The final squad was named on 26 May 2015. On 6 June 2015, Nattaya Duanjanthuek replaced Irravadee Makris.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group C, Ecuador
A 25-player squad was announced on 24 April 2015. The final squad was revealed on 15 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group C, Switzerland
A 27-player squad was announced on 13 May 2015. The final 23-player squad was announced on 22 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group D, Australia
The final 23-player squad was announced on 12 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group D, Nigeria
A 26-player squad was announced on 19 May 2015. The final squad was named on 27 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group D, Sweden
The final 23-player squad was announced on 11 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group D, United States
The final 23-player squad was announced on 14 April 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group E, Brazil
The squad was announced on 25 May 2015. On the eve of the tournament Rafinha was called in to replace Érika, who withdrew with a knee injury.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group E, Spain
The final 23-player squad was announced on 11 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group F, Colombia
A 25-player squad was announced on 1 May 2015. The final roster was revealed on 20 May 2015. On 2 June 2015, Lina Granados was called up to replace the injured Melissa Ortiz.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squads, Group F, Mexico
A 24-player squad was announced on 11 May 2015. The final roster was published on 20 May 2015.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup statistics
The following article outlines the statistics for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, which took place in Canada from 6 June to 5 July.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup statistics
Goals scored from penalty shoot-outs are not counted, and matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup statistics, Goalscorers
There were 146 goals scored in 52 matches, for an average of 2.81 goals per match. Célia Šašić of Germany and Carli Lloyd of the United States finished as the top scorers with six goals.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup statistics, Assists
Lena Goeßling of Germany won the assists table with four assists.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup statistics, Overall results, By team
Team(s) rendered in italics represent(s) the host nation(s). The competition's winning team is rendered in bold. (1) – Total games lost not counted in total games played (total games lost = total games won)(2) – Total number of games drawn (tied) for all teams = Total number of games drawn (tied) ÷ 2 (both teams involved)(3) – As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2015 FIFA Women's World Cup statistics, Overall results, By confederation
Host nation(s) are situated in the region(s) rendered in italics. (1) – Total games lost not counted in total games played (total games lost = total games won)(2) – Total number of games drawn (tied) for all teams = Total number of games drawn (tied) ÷ 2 (both teams involved)(3) – As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2015 FIFA corruption case
In 2015, U.S. federal prosecutors disclosed cases of corruption by officials and associates connected with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of association football, futsal and beach soccer.


2015 FIFA corruption case
Near the end of May 2015, fourteen people were indicted in connection with an investigation by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) into wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering. The United States Attorney General simultaneously announced the unsealing of the indictments and the prior guilty pleas by four football executives and two corporations.


2015 FIFA corruption case
The investigation mostly revolved around collusion between officials of continental football bodies CONMEBOL (South America) and CONCACAF (Caribbean, Central and North America), and sports marketing executives. The sports marketing executives were holders of media and marketing rights for high-profile international competitions including the Americas' FIFA World Cup qualifying tournaments, and showpiece tournaments CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa América.


2015 FIFA corruption case
CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb, also serving president of the Cayman Islands Football Association, was arrested in connection with the investigation, as were two sitting FIFA Executive Committee members: Eduardo Li of the Costa Rican Football Federation and Eugenio Figueredo, formerly of the Uruguayan Football Association, and former CONMEBOL President Nicolás Leoz. The investigation lasted several years, with the first arrest, of former CONCACAF president Jack Warner's son Daryll, made in July 2013.


2015 FIFA corruption case
In total, seven current FIFA officials were arrested at the Hotel Baur au Lac in Zürich on 27 May. They were preparing to attend the 65th FIFA Congress, which was scheduled to include the election of the president of FIFA. They are expected to be extradited to the United States on suspicion of receiving US$150 million in bribes. There was also a simultaneous raid on the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami, and later, two further men handed themselves in to police for arrest: Jack Warner and marketing executive Alejandro Burzaco. Two further arrests of FIFA officials at the hotel occurred in December 2015.


2015 FIFA corruption case
The arrests case triggered Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany and Switzerland to open or intensify separate criminal investigations into top FIFA officials for corruption.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
The 2015 arrests centre on the alleged use of bribery, fraud and money laundering to corrupt the issuing of media and marketing rights for FIFA games in the Americas, estimated at $150 million, including at least $110 million in bribes related to the Copa América Centenario to be hosted in 2016 in the United States. In addition, the indictment handed down by the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, New York, alleges that bribery was used in an attempt to influence clothing sponsorship contracts, the selection process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup host, and the 2011 FIFA presidential election. Specifically, an unnamed sports equipment company – identified in multiple sources as Nike, Inc. – is alleged to have paid at least $40 million in bribes to become the sole provider of uniforms, footwear, accessories, and equipment to the Brazil national team.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
In December 2010, federal law enforcement agents secured the undercover cooperation of American football executive and CONCACAF official Chuck Blazer. The FBI's New York office had begun its probe as a spin-off of an unrelated organised crime investigation, and in August 2011, IRS-CI's Los Angeles office began investigating Blazer's alleged failure to file personal income tax returns. In December 2011, IRS-CI became aware of what the FBI was up to from news reports and the two offices began a joint investigation of Blazer.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
They were investigating Blazer's involvement in the bidding process for host countries for the FIFA World Cups from the early 1990s onwards. (The United States is one of two countries that broadly exercise worldwide jurisdiction to tax the net income of its citizens from any source in the world; it also requires taxpayers to report and pay tax on illegal income, and exercises worldwide jurisdiction over all financial institutions with U.S.-based account holders.) Blazer agreed to cooperate almost immediately after two agents approached him in New York and confronted him with proof of his tax crimes.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
In December 2010, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and former British Prime Minister David Cameron attended a meeting with FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon in which a vote-trading deal for the right to host the 2018 World Cup was discussed.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
In November 2013, Blazer pleaded guilty to 10 criminal charges including wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and offenses involving income tax and banking. Blazer's guilty plea had aimed to stave off a more serious charge of racketeering, which carried a potential 20-year prison sentence. Blazer would later make secret recordings of meetings with FIFA officials, and allegedly carried a recording device concealed in a keyring during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The information against Blazer (the charging document used in lieu of an indictment for a plea bargain) was revealed on 27 May 2015, the same day that the arrests were made in Zurich.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
In 2011, Phaedra Al-Majid, who was part of the successful 2022 Qatari World Cup Bid, came forward as a whistle-blower. She claimed that Qatar paid $1.5 million to African Football Confederation president Issa Hayatou, Ivory Coast FIFA member Jacques Anouma and Nigeria's suspended official Amos Adamu to vote for Qatar; all three denied the allegations. She later stated that she had fabricated her claims for media attention. Al-Majid co-operated with the Garcia Report. In November 2014, she stated that she was coerced into withdrawing her allegations as she feared for her safety and due to her lack of legal representation.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
As of June 2015, she was in FBI protective custody, when she stated, "The FBI have everything... There are people who are annoyed with me [for speaking out], and what really irks them is that I'm a female, Muslim whistleblower... I just don't think Blatter actually intends to quit. Everything he does is very calculated. He'll try very hard to save himself, I'm sure of it."


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
In May 2011, The Sunday Times published claims from a whistle-blower that President of CAF Issa Hayatou had, along with fellow Executive Committee member Jacques Anouma, accepted $1.5 million bribes from Qatar to secure his support for their bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations
In 2013, former FIFA President João Havelange and the Brazilian Football Confederation President Ricardo Teixeira were both found to have taken bribes worth millions of dollars. FIFA executive committee member Manilal Fernando was sanctioned with a lifetime ban for bribery and corruption.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, $10 million South African payment
In the wake of the corruption case, it was reported that in 2008 the general secretary of FIFA, Jérôme Valcke was alleged to have transferred $10 million that had been given to FIFA by Danny Jordaan, president of the South African Football Association, to accounts controlled by Jack Warner, then head of CONCACAF. The payment is a key piece of the American prosecutors' indictment that accuses Warner of taking a bribe in exchange for helping South Africa secure the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, $10 million South African payment
The payment from the South African Football Association had been intended to support the development of football in the Caribbean. $1.6 million of the South African payment was used by Warner to pay personal loans and credit cards and a further $360,000 was withdrawn by people connected to Warner. The Trinidadian supermarket chain JTA Supermarkets also received $4,860,000 from the FIFA payment.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, 2014 World Cup
The 2014 World Cup hosted in Brazil was controversial since the beginning. Brazilian residents were unhappy with the amount of public money spent in order to build stadiums and other necessary facilities to host the World Cup. Many protests were held by citizens claiming poor financial management from the Brazilian government. Furthermore, there were additional issues with regard to safety, misconduct, and officiating with underperformance referees.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, 2014 World Cup
Safety was a major issue for the world cup. Under the construction of multiple stadiums, eight workers died in a fire. Additionally, there was an unstable makeshift staircase at the Maracanã Stadium, a collapse in a frequently used monorail, and an unfinished overpass in Belo Horizonte due to funds being allocated on Stadiums.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, 2014 World Cup
The 2014 World Cup also faced numerous disciplinary cases such as Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez biting an Italian player, Giorgio Chiellini during a game, or Portuguese player, Pepe head-butting the German player Thomas Müller. Some of these disciplinary actions raised concerns in the poor judgment that referees would conduct during games.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, 2014 World Cup
As part of the underperformance referees claims, various speculations of the World Cup being rigged started to raise. Many referee mistakes were crucial for a lot of countries to pass to the next stage. Some of the referee mistakes include Russia vs Algeria: laser used against Russian goalkeeper, Netherlands vs Mexico erroneous penalty call against Mexico, Juan Camilo Zuniga fault to Neymar resulting in a serious injury, and multiple penalty calls that were avoided in the 2014 final Argentina vs Germany.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, 2014 World Cup
All these incidents were key clues for further investigation in the bribery scandal.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Laws used in charging
The Department of Justice has not charged anybody at FIFA with bribery. Prosecutors have instead alleged racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) Act, which was intended for use against the Mafia. In addition, officials have been charged with violations of the Travel Act. The relevant part of the law essentially says that it is illegal to engage in interstate or foreign travel, or use the mails or "any facility in interstate commerce" to promote, manage, establish or carry on an illegal activity.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Laws used in charging
That activity can be illegal under either federal or state law. Bribery is definitely included on the list of what is considered an illegal activity under the Travel Act. Any relevant transaction, even if it is only tangentially related to America, can be targeted. In one instance, a representative of First Caribbean International Bank in the Bahamas flew to New York to pick up a cheque for $250,000 (the alleged bribe) from the bribe recipient to transport it safely back to the defendant's bank account.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Swiss criminal inquiries
FIFA commissioned former United States Attorney Michael J. Garcia to investigate and report on the bidding processes behind the awarding of the 2018 FIFA World Cup to Russia and the 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar. In November 2014, FIFA made a copy of Garcia's report available to the Attorney General of Switzerland, who then stated that there were "grounds for suspicion that, in isolated cases, international transfers of assets with connections to Switzerland took place which merit examination by the criminal prosecution authorities".


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Swiss criminal inquiries
Sepp Blatter had been president of FIFA since 1998 (until his removal in December 2015). The Guardian said that FIFA's actions would "... inevitably be viewed with cynicism given Blatter's track record of using the Swiss courts and FIFA's regulatory processes to kick problematic issues into the long grass and deflect attention onto individuals who have already left football".


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Swiss criminal inquiries
In May 2015, on the same day as the arrests resulting from the FBI's investigation and in a separate action, the Swiss prosecuting authorities launched a criminal inquiry on "suspicion of criminal mismanagement and of money laundering" concerning the 2018 and 2022 bidding processes. The Swiss authorities seized "electronic data and documents" in a raid on FIFA's Zürich headquarters. The Swiss police also planned to question ten members of the FIFA Executive Committee who participated in the December 2010 votes that chose the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 world cups.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Swiss criminal inquiries
In September 2015, Switzerland was investigating a payment Blatter authorised in 2011 to the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Michel Platini for work done between 1999 and 2002. They also launched an investigation of possible "criminal mismanagement" by Blatter in a 2005 TV rights deal he signed with Jack Warner.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Swiss criminal inquiries
In March 2017, FIFA submitted 1300 pages of reports to the Swiss Attorney General's office. The investigation is expected to take up to 5 years to complete.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Television rights
In September 2015, Swiss public television channel SRF published that Blatter would have sold the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup rights in North America for US$600,000, a small fraction of their market value.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Allegations, Television rights
Torneos & Traffic (T&T) is a subsidiary of Fox International Channels since 2005 (with investments since 2002) is the same company involved in corrupt practices in the acquisition of rights to major South American football tournaments.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Indicted individuals and corporations
A total of 18 individuals and two corporations have been indicted, including nine FIFA officials and five businessmen.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Historical events leading to the arrests
In 2001, FIFA affiliate International Sports and Leisure went bankrupt in what were viewed in some circles as suspicious circumstances. In 2002 a FIFA whistleblower contacted British journalist Andrew Jennings relating to alleged corruption within FIFA itself.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Historical events leading to the arrests
Following investigations Swiss magistrate Thomas Hildbrand seized documents from FIFA offices in 2005 and in 2007 Jennings published a book – Foul – and broadcast the BBC Panorama documentary "The Beautiful Bung: Corruption and the World Cup". Panorama later aired the "Fifa and Co" documentary in 2007, which contained an allegation of soliciting a bribe against Jack Warner and a court judgement that Jérôme Valcke had lied in FIFA business dealings. These reports led the FBI to contact Jennings in 2009.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Historical events leading to the arrests
On 29 November 2010 the BBC broadcast FIFA's Dirty Secrets, a second documentary by Jennings. This was aired just days before the results of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids in Zurich, Switzerland. Following the bidding process, FIFA announced that Russia and Qatar had won the rights to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively. The result immediately caused controversies, as Russia is accused of a high level of racism in football and because of its involvement in the Ukrainian crisis.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Historical events leading to the arrests
After it was announced that Russia would host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Dr Rafał Pankowski, a head of UEFA FARE Monitoring Centre, accused the Russian Football Union of downplaying racist chants in stadiums. The annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014 led to several British and American politicians calling on FIFA to overturn its decision of hosting the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Criticism from a number of media outlets, sporting experts, and human rights groups also highlighted problems such as Qatar's limited football history, the high expected cost, the local climate, and Qatar's human rights record. Since in summer temperature will reach more than 50 °C (122 °F) in Qatar, it was announced on 24 February 2015 that a winter world cup would go ahead in favour of the traditional summertime event.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Historical events leading to the arrests
In 2011, former MI6 spy Christopher Steele began providing information and sources to the FBI, which helped advance the investigation.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Historical events leading to the arrests
In May 2011 a whistleblower later revealed to be Phaedra Almajid who was a member of the Qatari bid team for the 2022 World Cup, claimed that money was paid to FIFA's executive committee in order to buy votes. However, she retracted these claims in July 2011, later claiming that she had been coerced into making these retractions.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Historical events leading to the arrests
On May 2013, former CONCACAF executive Chuck Blazer was arrested (and later indicted) on bribery charges. Jack Warner and Blazer were suspended from FIFA at around the same time. Then on 17 October 2014 FIFA announced that the Garcia Report into alleged bribery during the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bids could not be released in full for legal reasons. Garcia later claimed that a summary of the report that was released misrepresents his findings.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Arrests
On the morning of 27 May 2015, seven FIFA officials were arrested just before the start of the 65th FIFA Congress. Two days later Sepp Blatter comfortably defeated Prince Ali bin Hussein to remain as President of FIFA. David Gill threatened to resign his newly elected role as FIFA Vice-President and member of the FIFA Executive Committee. 41 arrests in total had been made with both organizations and individuals being arrested Within these arrests 14 people have been convicted. Out of these 14, there are 12 individuals and 2 organisations.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, Arrests
They were all charged with things like "racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies". The investigations continued with the chance of more arrests remaining likely, on which Washington, D.C., Attorney General Loretta Lynch stated that the Department of Justice was aware that there are more corrupt officials and organizations, and expressed its commitment to catch all who were involved.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, May 2015
On 27 May 2015, during the FIFA annual meeting at the Baur au Lac hotel in Zurich, authorities charged 14 officials, including nine current or former FIFA executives, including FIFA vice-president Jeffrey Webb. All faced extradition to the United States. On the same day, the Swiss attorney general's office said that other FIFA executives were being questioned on suspicion of "criminal mismanagement" and money laundering.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, June 2015
On 2 June 2015 a letter was published, claiming that Jérôme Valcke was party to a potential bribe paid to former FIFA executive Jack Warner in relation to votes for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Despite his win just four days previously, Sepp Blatter announced his resignation as FIFA President.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, June 2015
The following day, South Africa sports minister Fikile Mbalula denied the $10 million payment to Warner was a bribe.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, June 2015
Later that day, the FBI unsealed the transcript of the allocution made by former FIFA member and head of CONCACAF, Chuck Blazer which he had made when he pleaded guilty in 2013 to various charges as part of an apparent plea bargain.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, June 2015
In Blazer's partially-redacted allocution, he claimed that he "and others, while acting in our official capacities, agreed to participate in a scheme to defraud FIFA and CONCACAF of the right to honest services by taking undisclosed bribes" and that he had "agreed with others in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup. I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup".


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, June 2015
On 6 June, Phaedra Almajid, who had been placed under the protective custody of the FBI, claimed that FIFA would be forced to strip Qatar from hosting the 2022 World Cup.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, June 2015
On 9 June, Italian-Argentinian Alejandro Burzaco was arrested in Italy. The two remaining Argentinian businessmen indicted, Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis, surrendered to a court in Buenos Aires on 18 June.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, September 2015
On 17 September 2015, FIFA stated that Jérôme Valcke had been put on leave and released from his duties until further notice. The decision was made by the FIFA Emergency Committee after a series of allegations implicated Valcke of selling World Cup tickets for above face value.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, September 2015
On 25 September, criminal proceedings were started against Blatter by Swiss prosecutors on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation. Blatter denied any wrongdoing.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, October 2015
On 8 October 2015, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Secretary General Jerome Valcke and UEFA President Michel Platini were suspended for 80 days by FIFA's Ethics Committee. Blatter appealed the suspension but lost the appeal on 18 November 2015.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, November 2015
German police searched the headquarters of the German Football Association over allegations of illegal deals before the 2006 World Cup. The head of president of the German Football Association, Wolfgang Niersbach, resigned. Marco Polo del Nero of Brazil, president of the Brazilian football federation announced his resignation from FIFA Executive Committee on 26 November 2015.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, December 2015
On 3 December 2015, FIFA vice-presidents Alfredo Hawit and Juan Angel Napout were arrested on suspicion of bribery in the same Zurich hotel where seven FIFA officials had been arrested in May 2015. Hours later, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed an additional 16 indictments for criminal schemes; as well, former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb pleaded guilty to money laundering, wire fraud and racketeering.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, December 2015
On 21 December, the FIFA Ethics Committee banned both Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini for eight years from all football-related activity organised by FIFA after being found guilty of a £1.3 million ($2 million) "disloyal payment" made to Platini in 2011. Blatter said he would appeal the verdict.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, January 2016
On 9 January 2016, the FIFA Emergency Committee decided to dismiss Jérôme Valcke as FIFA Secretary General and to terminate his employment relationship.


2015 FIFA corruption case, Timeline of events, February 2016
On 26 February 2016, an extraordinary FIFA Congress was held and elected UEFA Secretary General Gianni Infantino as the new president of FIFA while also passing a major reform package.