TORONTO, June 5, 2015 – Soccer fans across the country and around the world are getting ready for FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, kicking off Saturday in Edmonton. This edition is the largest to date with 24 teams (up from 16 in Germany 2011) and 52 matches across six cities. The National Organizing Committee aims to achieve a tournament-record goal of 1.5 million tickets sold, with the current count at more than 830,000. Spanning one month, the tournament is the first coast-to-coast sporting event in Canadian history, with Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton as the other host cities.

Vijay Setlur, Marketing Instructor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, and a freelance soccer journalist, is available to discuss this historic event from a business perspective, on topics including:

- economic impact;
- use of artificial grass and the playing surface controversy;
- marketing (ticket sales/attendance and sponsorship activity);
- sport tourism;
- legacy planning - sport and community;
- impact on women's sport in Canada; and
- event as a precursor to Canada's potential bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup

NOTE: York University’s media studio is available for double-ended broadcast interviews.

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Media contact:

Gloria Suhasini, Media Relations, 416 736 2100 ext. 22094, suhasini@yorku.ca