The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup will be the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup

The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the...

, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. In March 2011, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 won the right to host the event.

Host Selection

The bidding for each FIFA Women's World Cup currently includes hosting rights for the previous year's

2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup will be held in Canada. The host nation for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup will be granted the host status for this tournament. It will be hosted by Canada, as its the only bidder left in the running....

 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup (similar to the men's version

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

, in which the host nation stages the Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

The FIFA Confederations Cup is an association football tournament for national teams, currently held every four years by FIFA. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships , along with the FIFA World Cup winner and the host nation, to bring the number of teams...

 the year before). Bids for the tournament were required to be submitted by December 2010. Only two bids were submitted:
Zimbabwe withdrew on 1 March 2011. This left Canada as the only remaining candidate, with the bid receiving approval at a FIFA meeting on 3 March 2011.

Canada

Canada has proposed using at least six stadiums. Seven cities (listed below) have shown interest in bidding to stage games. Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, which had been expected to host the final match if the bid was successful, was ultimately removed from the bid, due to potential conflicts with the 2015 Pan American Games

2015 Pan American Games

The 2015 Pan American Games, officially the XVII Pan American Games or the 17th Pan American Games, will be a major international multi-sport event that will be held from July 10–26, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Ajax, Barrie, Brampton, Caledon, Hamilton,...

. Canada has previous experience hosting FIFA tournaments including the 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship

1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship

The FIFA U-16 World Championship 1987 was held in the cities of Toronto, Saint John, Montreal, and St. John's in Canada between 12 July and 25 July 1987...

, 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship

2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship

The 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship was held from August 17 to September 1. It was the first sanctioned youth tournament for women put together by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada. FIFA granted the tournament to Canada in March 2001. Three cities hosted the tournament,...

 and the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup , hosted by Canada from June 30 to July 22, 2007. Argentina defeated Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth...

, which set an all time attendance record for that tournament.

Proposed venues

Edmonton Edmonton Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...	Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... 1		Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
Commonwealth Stadium Commonwealth Stadium (Edmonton) Commonwealth Stadium is a sports stadium located in the Norwood Area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, primarily used by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. The stadium is owned and operated by the City of Edmonton.- History :...	Olympic Stadium Olympic Stadium (Montreal) The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics...	Saputo Stadium Saputo Stadium Saputo Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which opened on May 21, 2008, and is the current home of the Montreal Impact. The stadium is built on the former practice track and field site on the grounds of the 1976 Summer Olympics, while the stadium's west side has a...	BC Place Stadium BC Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium located at the north side of False Creek, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the home field for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer . Originally opened on June 19, 1983 as the...
Capacity: 60,081	Capacity: 66,308	Capacity: 13,034 (planned expansion to 20,341)	Capacity: 54,500
Winnipeg Winnipeg Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...	Ottawa Ottawa Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...	Moncton	Halifax
New Winnipeg Blue Bombers Stadium New Winnipeg Blue Bombers Stadium New Winnipeg Blue Bombers Stadium is an approved football stadium planned for Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.The stadium is being built on the grounds of the University of Manitoba campus at the intersection of Chancellor Matheson Road and University Crescent next to the existing University Stadium...	Frank Clair Stadium Frank Clair Stadium Frank Clair Stadium is a Canadian football stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Lansdowne Park, on the southern edge of The Glebe neighbourhood, where Bank Street crosses the Rideau Canal.-Tenants:...	Moncton Stadium	New Halifax Stadium
Capacity: 33,422 (expandable to 40,000)	Capacity: 26,559 (expandable to 45,000)	Capacity: 10,000 (expandable to 20,725 +)	Capacity: 20,000+ (planned)

¹It is expected that only one of these two venues will be used.

Zimbabwe

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

Robert Mugabe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...

regime. The country also lacks the amount of funds necessary to host a worldwide event.

Teams and qualification

For this tournament, the number of teams will be expanded from 16 to 24, with the number of matches increasing from 32 to 52.

Banning of North Korea

After North Korea had several players tested positive 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 is the first time a women's team has ever been banned from a Women's World Cup, and it will be the first time since since 1995 that North Korea will not participate in a Women's World Cup.