If you are a fan of women’s football you may know the name Steffi Jones. The now retired German defender won three consecutive European Championships, won an Olympic bronze at the 2000 Summer Olympics and was part of the German squad that won the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. In 2004, she won another Olympic bronze for the second time in Athens. And I was lucky enough to hear her speak at a recent event in London.

This summer Germany will play host to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Steffi was in town to promote the event in her role as the event’s head of the Local Organising Committee.

The former footballing star was a joy to listen to, animated and passionate, informed and educated, she captured the attention of the room as she spoke about Germany’s plans to host an event that Tatjana Haenni, Head of FIFA Women’s Competitions department, hopes will “change the image of women’s football in the world.”

Germany has big plans for the event and with ticket sales already passing the 500,000 mark all the signs are there that this will be a landmark tournament. Of the ticket allocation given to England’s matches about half have been sold, so fans are being encouraged to plan a summer trip to the event which kicks off on 26 June when the host nation face Canada at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

England will face Japan, Mexico and New Zealand in their group, but manager Hope Powell is being cautious about the expectations on her side, following a strong performance at Euro 2009 that saw them reach the final.

“We have to face teams that we have never played before or have not played for some time, that’s never easy. Plus the different between football on a European level to on a world level is quite different,” she said.

But I doubt whether these guarded words will stop either the players or the fans of dreaming of World Cup glory.

If you are keen to make the trip to Germany to support the team, check out the event website for more details www.fifa.com/womensworldcup ^[1]

Louise Hudson, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine