As consolation prizes go, it’s really not all that bad.
Lost in the fall-out to Shush-Gate on Sunday was the CSA’s announcement of the four cities that will play host to the 2014 FIFA u-20 women’s tournament. The event acts as a trial event for the big show in 2015, but is also the biggest girls youth tournament in the world.
The for cities that will be a part of the festival are Edmonton, Montréal, Moncton and…
Toronto!
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Yes, the nation’s biggest centre is going to be part of the 2014/15 party after all.
As Ben wrote earlier, Toronto dropped the ball when it came to not getting on board for the World Cup in 2015. And, it’s only Toronto’s fault. It didn’t apply and the CSA could hardly bend he rules to get them in.
So, it was a happy surprise that the city will be a part of 2014.
Now, before the conspiracy nuts get worked up, let’s be clear. Toronto is only part of this because Ottawa won’t be ready. The CSA wanted part of the u20s in Ontario and Lansdowne Live won’t be ready until 2015.
So, Toronto it is. Although, the CSA made it clear that many from the Ottawa organizing committee will be running the show in Toronto to give them a trial run for the World Cup.
Torontonians that are upset that the city won’t be a part of 2015 should make sure they support this tournament. Although the u20 event is clearly lesser, it’s always been part of the overall package that Canada won the right to host. The city embraced the u20 men in 2007, they should do the same for the women in 2014.
As for the other three choices, they make a lot of sense. Edmonton and Montreal offer the biggest venues so you can bet that they will probably host the final and opening game. Moncton is new to this and needed the practice (it’s also the type of centre that will not look down its nose at this event – if I have my druthers I play all three of Canada’s games there as you can bet the crowd will be engaged and excited).
The CSA stressed that no one was excluded from taking part in the event. These were the only cities that expressed an interest, so it wasn’t a case of rejecting Vancouver and Winnipeg.