FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, New Zealand Football - Winner Event Excellence Award
2009 New Zealand Sport and Recreation Sector Awards
The FIFA U17 Women's World Cup was held from 28 October to 16 November 2008 and involved 16 countries playing a total of 32 games shared between QEII Park, and North Harbour, Waikato and Westpac Stadiums
It was the first tournament of its kind, created by FIFA to bring the schedule of major women's football tournaments in line with the male equivalents.
The tournament involved 480 international team participants, approximately 300 international media and visitors, and 212,506 spectators.
With television rights to the event sold to over 155 territories, the 2008 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup provided global exposure for New Zealand and its host cities.
The total expenditure for this inaugural tournament by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) was $7.2 million.
New Zealand Football’s vision was “to deliver a successful inaugural FIFA U17 Women's World Cup and inspire the next generation of footballers.”
Operationally New Zealand Football’s vision was to ensure they ran “a top quality FIFA World Cup event and a fun "kiwi" experience for FIFA, participating teams, key stakeholders and partners, media and fans.” They also aimed to meet and surpass all of FIFA's World Cup requirements and obligations.
Further objectives were:
- To achieve a minimum of 130,000 spectators for the tournament (to more than double the number of spectators at the 2006 FIFA U20 World Cup in Russia);
- For the event to break even or better;
- To find an additional three million dollars of local support and funding; and
- To create a positive legacy in New Zealand for the development and growth of women's football and football in general.
New Zealand Football won the Event Excellence Award for its organisation of the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup. Pictured are New Zealand Football chief executive Michael Glading and tournament chief executive Chris Simpson. Photo by: David Gall/SPARC
Following New Zealand Football’s appointment of Chris Simpson as CEO of the FIFA LOC in March 2007, a comprehensive national and regional staffing strategy was put in place to deliver on FIFA’s exhaustive requirements. A nationwide workforce plan was consequently developed with staggered staff and volunteer commencement dates.
Volunteer service agreements and job descriptions were created to protect volunteers and the LOC alike. All staff and volunteers were provided with extensive training.
Four LOC Directors and four Venue Managers were appointed 11 months prior to the tournament to oversee eight key departments: finance, operations, marketing, protocol and functions, and for the Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, and Christchurch venues.
The LOC developed close and proactive partnerships with the five host city councils. Over $1.2M in council support was negotiated. Council support included city dressing, host city events, promotional support, staff resources, transport support, stadium hire support, and financial assistance.
The LOC also worked closely with FIFA Marketing and FIFA's six global partners - Visa, Coca Cola, Emirates, Hyundai/Kia, Adidas and Sony. Major Events was also secured as a national supporter and this was the first time in FIFA World Cup history that commercial national supporter benefits were provided to a host government.
Finally, Fairfax Media and the Radio Network were confirmed as national supporters. Sky TV became the host broadcaster for the event.
The board of New Zealand Football formed a sub-committee of key members to provide regular weekly governance and support for the LOC. A National Advisory Group was also created by Major Events to assist the LOC with a direct communication line to key Government agencies.
Each of the four regions also formed a respective advisory group consisting of key stakeholders from city councils, stadiums, Government and football federations.
The LOC coordinated a detailed volunteer programme which included a recruitment drive, volunteer workforce handbook, thorough training, clothing/apparel, support systems and thank-you functions.
The LOC also formulated a detailed operations plan that met all of FIFA’s requirements and covered accreditation systems, accommodation, competitions, team services, IT and telecommunications, media operations, referees, transport, and safety and security.
The LOC planned and implemented a range of quality events and activities which included ambassador visits, roadshows, inspection visits, FIFA Com-Unity development seminars, the official draw ceremony at Te Papa, banquet dinners, a VIP hosting strategy, civic welcomes, a gifting strategy and opening and closing ceremonies.
The LOC implemented a comprehensive marketing campaign that successfully engaged the key target audiences of New Zealand schools, football clubs, ethnic groups, young families and general sports fans.
New Zealand with its small population and where football is not the number one sport, combined with the low public awareness of 15 to 17 year old women playing football, limited funds, and a poor track record of spectator numbers attending even the national men's football games meant the LOC were faced with significant challenges. Yet given all of these challenges, the LOC pulled off a remarkable tournament. Results include:
- Over 1,000 volunteers recruited;
- A survey conducted amongst all FIFA staff, players, spectators and volunteers showed 98% customer satisfaction was achieved;
- 100% of teams and FIFA staff rated the transport services as excellent or good;
- 98% of teams and FIFA staff rated their experience of air-side assistance as excellent or good;
- FIFA was very pleased with the way the tournament went. FIFA President Sepp Blatter, Executive Committee member Franz Beckenbauer, FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke and FIFA's Head of Women's Football Tatjana Haenni all praised the tournament;
- FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup New Zealand 2008 attracted 212,506 spectators, 150,000 people more than FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Russia 2006;
- The previous record for a women's sporting event in New Zealand (9,600 for Silver Ferns vs Australia in netball) was bettered four times with over 13,000 spectators attending the opening game, 11,000 watching NZ play Denmark in Auckland, 11,500 attending England’s match against Brazil in Wellington and a crowd of over 16,000 fans for the final, ultimately creating a new record.
- The final accounts for the tournament show a break-even result for the entire event over two years, thus proving cost-neutral to New Zealand Football; and
- The LOC succeeded in generating in excess of $3.0M in sponsorships, funding, and Value in Kind locally from national Government, local government, sponsors, trusts, ticket revenue, merchandise and other sources.
In its pursuit of a tournament legacy, the LOC:
- Attracted over 26,000 school children to the games in the first round - from over 500 schools;
- Provided massive profile for women's football. The tournament received unprecedented media coverage on the front and back pages of all major newspapers for nearly a month. All 32 games were televised live. TVNZ also covered all of the New Zealand team games plus the finals. 3,883 promotional spots were secured on Sky TV and 406 spots on TVNZ.
- Supplied 40,000 educational resource kits to participating schools;
- Built a database of over 14,000 fans; and
- Ran a range of development programmes leading up to and during the event.
The positive impact the inaugural FIFA U17 Women's World Cup 2008 has had on football in New Zealand and on New Zealand’s reputation for hosting major international tournaments has been immeasurable.
www.nzfootball.co.nz
Updated | 29 May 2009.
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