Mayi Cruz Blanco talks about FIFA Women's World Cup Ambitions on World Football Insider

Maryilian Cruz Blanco (FMA'05) was featured in an article published by World Football Insider on 25 September.

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FIFA Talks Women's World Cup Ambitions; Club World Cup Draw

World Football Insider, September 25, 2012

(WFI) FIFA says it is "the ideal dream" for the Women’s World Cup to one day reach the level of the men’s edition.

“It is our hope that it [Women’s World Cup] will reach the level of men’s football - that is the ideal dream," Maryilian Cruz Blanco, FIFA’s women’s football development manager, told reporters at the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan on Sunday.

“It depends on where it is organised. Germany is a fantastic example because as soon as they got the World Cup they started working.”

She added: "It depends a lot on the organizing committee on the culture on the country.

"Now we go to Canada [2015 hosts] and football is not the first sport so it’s a different challenge.

The previous senior Women’s World Cup held in Germany in 2011 set records for attendances, TV viewing figures and revenues.

Blanco admitted the Women's World Cup still had some way to go to reach figures seen at the men’s edition.

The World Cup in 2015 will see the number of teams competing increase from 16 to 24.

But Blanco said the challenge will be to keep the “pace and standards” of the game.

“We will base them on the legacy of Germany because we had such a good tournament, such good coverage” she added.

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