Security at the men's FIFA World Cup is a "complex and calculated chore," but at the Women's World Cup, "friendly smiles and a tip of the cap are more likely to greet you than a surly security guard waving a baton," according to Paul Logothetis of USA TODAY. There is a "noticeable police presence on game days in Montreal, but there is no sign of unruly fans." The majority "seem to be families or children." Univ. of Ottawa professor Wesley Wark said, "This is Canada, and we tend not to go overboard by instinct on security matters. The idea is to promote women soccer and last thing is to surround them with fences or a police force. That would create an image around the games that you don't want" (USA TODAY, 6/11). The GLOBE & MAIL's John Doyle writes under the header, "Friendly Moncton A Welcome Change From FIFA's Rudeness." Fans "get used to" the "rudeness and the outright hostility of FIFA toward the print press." But "nothing of the kind has happened in Moncton," as WWC officials and the local organizers "have been very helpful" (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/11).
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Spain-Costa Rica at Olympic Stadium was
only able to draw roughly 1,000 fans |
FALLING SHORT? In Montreal, Stu Cowan notes there were "roughly 1,000 people" at Olympic Stadium on Tuesday for the Spain-Costa Rica WWC opener there. Tickets for the doubleheader that day ranged from $28.25-87 (all figures C), while parking was $20. The "official announced crowd for the two games was an optimistic 10,175." It will be "really interesting to see how many people show up" for Monday's Netherlands-Canada match, the home country's only opening-stage appearance in the city. Tickets for that game "range in price from $46.50 to $93.50." When Canada "played its first game of the World Cup last Saturday at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, a crowd of 53,058" was there. That game "ranged in price from $50 to $115." Cowan notes the WWC is "starting to look like this year’s World Junior Hockey Championship." While junior games "sold out in Toronto, only 14,142 showed up at the Bell Centre for Canada’s opening game against Slovakia." Observers could "almost count the attendance by hand at Montreal games that didn’t involve Canada and ticket prices for the tournament ranged from $71 to a top price of $336 for the Canada-U. S. game" (
MONTREAL GAZETTE, 6/11).
THE NAME OF THE GAME: In L.A., Kevin Baxter notes FIFA "forbids commercial sponsorship of stadium names." Because Investors Group is "not a FIFA sponsor, several huge marquees featuring the company's name and logo" on the outside of the Winnipeg stadium "have been covered by large rainbow-colored banners." National Organizing Committee Winnipeg Venue GM Chad Falk said, "We had to remove tens of thousands of branded cup-holder stickers that were attached to every seat." Baxter notes the stickers were "for a local company called Pizza Hotline," which is not a FIFA sponsor. Ottawa's TD Place Stadium "also ran afoul of FIFA's policy and will be going by its original name, Lansdowne Park, during the tournament." The other four World Cup stadiums -- BC Place in Vancouver, Commonwealth Stadium, Olympic Stadium and Moncton Stadium -- "will retain their official names" (
L.A. TIMES, 6/11).
