BBC "The Football Association has announced Manchester, Blackburn, Preston, Blackpool and Warrington will host next summer's European Women's Championship. The event will be staged from 5-19 June 2005 and England qualify automatically. England will open their campaign at Manchester City's stadium on 5 June with Blackburn staging the final. Uefa president Lennart Johansson said: "I am sure that the FA and the North West region will deliver a highly professional event." While I understand having all of the games in a particular area, not including the capital is a disappointment with none of the cities involved having a team in the Premier League. I know it will do a little bit for the state of the game in the country but I think more could have been done had all of the matches been in London.
FA "The FA has today announced its plans to bring a prestigious European sporting event to the North West of England, with five venues hosting games next June. The 6th UEFA European Women’s Championship will be staged from June 5-19 2005, and TheFA.com will bring you all the latest news as we launch our new Euro 2005 pillar. Featuring eight teams in two groups, 15 matches will be staged at five different venues across the North West with live TV coverage in 54 countries via Eurosport and on an additional UK network to be confirmed. England qualify automatically for the eight-nation Finals and could line-up against World Cup Finalists Germany and Sweden. The City of Manchester Stadium will host the opening England game on Sunday 5 June and The FA is planning major sporting activity for young people at SportCity on the day of the game as part of its plans to leave a sporting legacy from staging this event. The stadium will also host the Final Draw on Wednesday 19 January with representatives from all eight competing nations present. Blackburn Rovers FC will host England’s next two group games and will also be the setting for the Final on Sunday June 19th. Blackpool FC completes the Group A stadia and will host three group games, while Preston North End’s Deepdale ground and Warrington Wolves’ newly-built rugby league home will be the fitting venues for the Group B games and will each stage one Semi-Final tie. UEFA President Lennart Johansson said: "Staging the Women's EURO 2005 in England, where women's football is the top female sport is a great opportunity. "I am sure that The FA and the North West region will deliver a highly professional event, promoting women's football as a skilful and competitive game and enhancing its popularity in the UK and across Europe." The FA Chairman Geoff Thompson added: “It is a great honour for The Football Association to be hosting such a prestigious tournament. Women’s Football is the fastest growing sport and also the top female sport in England, and The FA is delighted to show our commitment to the women’s game by hosting this event.” Women’s Euro 2005 is the first major women’s football tournament to be played in the UK and it gives The FA the opportunity to drive participation in the game. Football is currently the top female participation sport in England and is particularly popular with girls, with research showing 1.6 million girls under 15 played football in 2003-04 (BMRB, 2004), while 101,000 girls and women are now involved in regular affiliated football competition. “Staging a major tournament will give The FA a great opportunity to tell young girls about their opportunities to play football and we expect that participation levels will increase again as a result of this tournament,” says The FA’s Director of Football Development Trevor Brooking. “Having the games live on TV will also be a good showcase of how the England players can be role models for future generations.” In conjunction with the launch, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Tessa Jowell MP has become the first Women’s Euro 2005 ambassador and has even taken to playing in an all-female Labour Party five-a-side team at the age of 57. "It is a fantastic coup to bring a European tournament of this prestige to the UK and this could have a major impact on women's sports. Football is now the top female sport in England and boasts over 25 million players across the world, but it will be next summer when the game firmly hits the radar of sports fans in the UK,” she commented. “There will be some very talented sportswomen in this field and I am sure we will see young girls taking to pitches in their thousands, having been inspired by their performance. I hope the media will get behind the England team in their Euro 2005 campaign."
Well, not bad but still I stand by my point. And instead of Preston or Blackpool, it´s too bad they didn´t get the Reebok or JJB. Newer and nicer stadia.
hey dennism, what's the best way to get match tickets and are there any special travel deals available for the tourney??
You can send out for information at this page. http://www.thefa.com/genericformhandler//UefaWomensForm.htm As for travel, I don´t know. I´ll ask around about it.
thanks dennism, I registered... philly to heathrow is very convenient... I just looking for some good hotel/ticket deals the FA might be offering.. I'm sure the England matches will do well, and they'd like to get as many others to the non-England matches as possible... I'll post any relevant news I get about it.
you'll probably be able to pay on the day at every single game. The womens' game is not huge in England. Lennart Johannsen's comment about none of the cities involved having a team in the premier league must be a bit of a surprise in Manchester and Blackburn. for accomodation, Blackpool apparently has more hotel rooms than the whole of Portugal, and has more tourists per year than Greece. It's also the tackiest place in the world, which can be literally applied in both senses of the word on bad evenings.
I read that as a quote by DennisM, not Johannsen, although I could be mistaken. And I'm sure he means in the women's premier league, not the EPL.
I would suggest flying to Manchester International Airport, which is the biggest in Britain outside the London area. I know there are lots of flights to Manchester from the biggest US and Canadian airports, including charters. If you want to take a side trip to Europe, there are lots of inexpensive flights to/from Europe with discount airlines from Manchester (and smaller airports in England). London is an interesting visit in itself, but can be an expensive pain if that is not your ultimate destination. The trouble with Heathrow is that it is not the nicest airport (and getting to another of the three terminals is very timeconsuming, involving buses), and other than plane connections, getting to the Northwest from Heathrow by train (expensive) or bus (less expensive) is problematic.
As mentioned it was DennisM's comments not Lennart Johanssons. And it is Johansson not Johannsen, he is a Swede not a Dane or Norwegian.
JJB is presumably being used for Rugby League at that time of year. Blackpool is a very stange choice given that two sides of the ground are currently demolished. Expect attendances to be pitiful except for the England games.
Yes, my fault. I forgot about Bloomfield Road. Yes, well, if the Latics can share with their rugby team then the rugby team can share with the WNT as well. How about Prenton Park then? Yes, the women´s EPL.
Yes, true. My mistake but the Reebok and JJB are two of the top newer stadia in England and I thought they would be good.