Canada Soccer – The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ has won Event of the Year honours at the 2016 Canadian Tourism Awards. The prize celebrates Canada 2015 for best practices in all aspects of its operations, serving as an example of excellence to other events and festivals and the greater tourism industry.

The record-breaking event, hosted from coast to coast across Canada from 6 June to 5 July, drew a record-setting crowd, generated nearly half a billion dollars in economic impact, and attracted a worldwide television audience of more than 750 million viewers.

“Canada Soccer is honoured to have been awarded the Event of the Year prize from the Canadian Tourism Awards,” said Victor Montagliani, President of Canada Soccer. “The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ was truly a spectacular and once-in-a-lifetime event for Canada, one that helped promote our nation, our sport, and women to more than 200 nations across the world.”

By drawing 1,353,506 cumulative spectators over 52 matches, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ set both a record for the competition as well as a record for any FIFA competition other than the men’s FIFA World Cup. The tournament averaged 26,539 spectators per match, with seven matches recorded over 50,000 spectators.

The event supported an economic impact of $493.6 million industry output, $241.1 million in gross domestic product, and $97 million in taxes. The event also supported 3,154 full-year jobs and engaged 60% of Canadians aged 9-17 years old. As part of the competition’s legacy, there were 24 FIFA Quality Pro football surfaces featured, with notably the 18 training fields now available for use by the six Canadian communities.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ was a landmark event for Canada, for the sport of football, and for women around the world. True to the competition’s slogan “To a greater goal,” the competition put the spotlight on women’s sport. “To a greater goal” captured a dual message that embodied the essence of the world-class competition: one directly connected to the field of play and another for humanity.

Recognition for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015
2015 PRESTIGE Award for CSTA International Event of the Year
2015-16 Le Maurice Sport Québec award for international event of the year
2015 Manitoba Soccer President’s Award (awarded to the Winnipeg venue team and volunteers)
2015 Sports Travel Awards for best professional series or circuit
2016 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Live Sports Event (awarded to Bell Media / TSN)
2016 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Sports Play by Play Announcer (awarded to Bell Media / TSN Luke Wileman)
2016 Canadian Screen Awards for Best Sports Opening Tease (awarded to Bell Media / TSN Matt Dunn, Michael Farber, Devon Burns, Darren Oliver, and Steve Denheyer)
2016 Sports Emmys for Outstanding Production Design / Art Direction – USA 360 shoot (awarded to Fox/FS1/FoxSports.com)
2016 Sports Emmys for Outstanding Technical Team Studio (awarded to Fox/FS1/FoxSports.com)
2016 NAB Show Gord World Medal for the FIFA Women’s World Cup coverage (awarded to FOXSports)
2016 runner up on Global Sports Index list of 83 world championships and multi-sport games in 2015
2016 Event of the Year at the Canadian Tourism Awards

Canada Soccer, in partnership with its membership and its partners, provides leadership in the pursuit of excellence in soccer, both at the national and international levels. Canada Soccer not only strives to lead Canada to victory, but also encourages Canadians to a life-long passion for soccer. For more details on Canada Soccer, visit the official website at canadasoccer.com.