COURTESY RELAY: FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 2003 is just 50 days away as US Soccer and FIFA continue to work behind the scenes to stage the 16-team, 32-match tournament in the USA from Sept 20 to Oct 12 at six soccer venues across the United States. The US was awarded the tournament back on May 26, giving US Soccer just 17 weeks to organize and stage the event.
Tickets for the FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 2003 are moving fast across the U.S., with venues in Los Angeles, Portland and Columbus leading the way for the high-demand tickets. A venue-series ticket consists of all of the matches scheduled at a single FIFA Women’s World Cup venue. Fans can purchase venue series tickets, which are priced from $50US to $660 US depending on the venue and number of match days included in the series, online through www.fifaworldcup.com or www.Ticketmaster.com
The limit is eight (8) series tickets per venue and per customer, with the exception of the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, which is limited to six (6) series tickets. Individual match day tickets for doubleheaders at all venues will go on sale at a later date pending availability.
Below is a quick By the Numbers look at the FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 2003, 50 to 1.
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2003 – 50 Days and Counting
BY THE NUMBERS
50 – Days until the start of the FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 2003 on Sept. 20, 2003
49 – Goal differential for the U.S. in 15 meetings with FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier Japan (55 for the U.S., 6 against)
48 – Minutes in which it took Michelle Akers to score five goals in the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup against Chinese Taipei, a tournament record
47 – Goal differential for the U.S. in 14 meetings with FWWC Qualifier Australia (55 for the U.S., 8 against)
46 – Minute of stoppage time in the first half that Bettina Weigmann scored against the U.S. to give Germany a 2-1 lead in the 1999 FWWC quarterfinals (a game won by the U.S. 3-2)
45 – Teams that participated in qualifying play for the 1991 FWWC, compared to 52 in 1995, 81 in 1999 and 99 2003
44 – Combined goals in 17 all-time meetings between the USA and Sweden in advance of their tournament opener on Sept. 21 at RFK Stadium (30 for the U.S., 14 against)
43 – All-time goals the U.S. has scored vs. Sweden, Nigeria and North Korea, their opponents in Group A (compared to 16 against)
42 – U.S. WNT games started by head coach April Heinrichs in earning 47 caps and 37 goals in her playing days
41 – Exact number of goals that the U.S. has scored individually against both China and Germany all-time
40 – Age of New Zealand’s Anne Smith, who in 1991 became the oldest player to appear in the FWWC (40 years, 55 days)
39 – Goals by Canada in qualifying for the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, to lead all teams (compared to 26 in 2003 qualifying)
38 – Different players to appear on the U.S. roster in the first three FIFA Women’s World Cups
37 – Height, in centimetres, of the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy
36 – Total assists recorded by the U.S. during the first three World Cups (on 56 all-time goals)
35 – Total losses by the U.S. all-time vs. teams that have qualified for WWC 2003 (compared to 139 wins and 26 ties)
34 – Goals scored by Japan in group play during Asian qualifying, while allowing zero
33 – Age of oldest player to ever appear in a FIFA Women’s World Cup final (Michelle Akers in 1999)
32 – Total number of matches in the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup
31 – Market share of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final in the United States, which earned an 11.4 rating on ABC (the game was viewed by an estimated 40 million people)
30 – Goals scored by Germany in compiling a perfect 6-0 record in European qualifying (compared to one goal against)
29 – Goals scored by China in group play during Asian qualifying, while allowing zero
28 – Days after the WUSA Founders Cup II in San Diego on Aug. 24 that the USA opens the FIFA Women’s World Cup against Sweden at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
27 – Goal differential for the U.S. all-time vs. Group A opponents (43 for the U.S., 16 against)
26 – Matches in the 1991 and 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup, when only 12 teams qualified
25 – Total number of venues selected to host FIFA Women’s World Cup matches, including 2003 (PGE Park is the only venue to be chosen twice)
24 – Total number of shots by the U.S. against North Korea in their 1999 meeting (compared to 9 for their opponents)
23 – Days, from start to finish, of the FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 2003 (Sept. 20 to Oct. 12)
22 – Total number of teams to ever qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup
21 – Goals scored by Norway in European qualifying for the World Cup, compared to three against
20 – Overall international players who have played in all three previous FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments
19 – Total number of teams that qualified for at least one of the first three Women’s World Cups
18 – Miles from the Los Angeles city center to the Home Depot Center, located just south of L.A. in Carson, Calif.
17 – Goals scored by the U.S. en route to the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship
16 – Total number of teams vying for the FIFA Women’s World Cup USA 2003 crown
15 – All-Time wins in the FIFA Women’s World Cup by the USA (record)
14 – All-Time wins in the FIFA Women’s World Cup by Norway (second best)
13 – Teams returning to the U.S. for the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup after playing here in 1999
12 – Years since the first FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in China (the 2007 event will be staged there)
11 – FIFA Women’s World Cup caps for U.S. goalkeeper Briana Scurry, who has allowed just goals in those games
10 – Record for most goals in a single FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament (by Michelle Akers in 1991)
9 – Total number of yellow cards and red cards for the U.S. in 18 FIFA Women’s World Cup games (8 yellows, one red)
8 – Times Japan has been shut out in 10 total FIFA Women’s World Cup appearances
7 – Goals by both Sissi (Brazil) and Sun Wen (China) to lead all scorers at the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup
6 – Wins that it will take to hoist the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy and the teams in the 2003 field that have never won a FIFA Women’s World Cup game
5 – Goals scored by Brandi Chastain in the USA’s first-ever FWWC qualifying game, all as a substitute against Mexico on April 18, 1991
4 – Different teams to appear in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (China, Norway and the U.S. twice; Germany once)
3 – Teams making their first FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance (Argentina, France, South Korea)
2 – Different champions through the first three Women’s World Cups (USA-2, Norway-1)
1 – World Champion to be crowned on Oct. 12, 2003 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California
Media release by US Soccer Communications Department.