The 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was held in Jordan from 30 September to 21 October 2016.[1]
While the role of women in sport was regarded as controversial due to cultural and religious conservatism in some countries of the Middle East, this tournament was the first women's FIFA tournament held in the region.[2]
Host selection
The following countries submitted a bid to host the tournament by the May 2013 deadline:[3]
A total of 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. In addition to Jordan who qualified automatically as hosts, the other 15 teams qualified from six separate continental competitions. The slot allocation was published in June 2014.[5]
The three host cities were Amman, Irbid, and Zarqa. The infrastructure of the stadiums and surrounding areas in the host cities was developed. Greater Amman Municipality and the Higher Council for Youth were responsible for developing the infrastructure, with 30% under the responsibility of the municipality and 70% under the responsibility of the council.[6]
The official emblem was unveiled on 3 May 2015, which was designed to showcase Jordan's most iconic symbols. Visual aspects of the Jordanian culture can be seen on the emblem that has the traditional shape of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Trophy, which include; the distinctive pattern of the Jordanian Keffieh, the Jordanian national flower Black Iris, Pan Arab colors and a star from the Jordanian flag.[7]
Mascot
In a FIFA press conference on 28 May 2016, the tournament mascot, "Aseela", was introduced. Aseela is an Arabian oryx, which is a rare animal that happens to be the national animal of Jordan. The Arabian Oryx was chosen for being a symbol of " strength, gentleness, and athleticism", resembling female football players. The mascot is expected to inspire young women across Jordan and the region to participate in watching the tournament.[8]
Theme Song
The Official song for the 2016 FIFA Women U-17 World Cup is 'Jordan our Playground' Composed by Lebanese Singer Carole Samaha and her Jordanian counterpart Hussein Al Salman.[9][10]
Each team named a squad of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline. All players must be born on or after 1 January 1999, and on or before 31 December 2001.[11] The official squads were announced on 23 September 2016.[12]
Match officials
A total of 16 referees, 1 reserve referee, and 28 assistant referees were appointed by FIFA for the tournament.[13]
Esther Azzopardi Sandra Braz Bastos Anastasia Pustovoitova Olga Zadinová
Lucia Abruzzese Oleksandra Ardasheva Christina Biehl Susanne Kueng Ekaterina Kurochkina Kylie McMullan Slavomira Majkuthová Katarzyna Wojs
Draw
The official draw was held on 30 May 2016, 18:00 EEST (UTC+3), at the Al Hussein Cultural Centre in Amman.[14][15] The teams were seeded based on their performances in previous U-17 Women's World Cups and confederation tournaments, with the hosts Jordan automatically seeded and assigned to position A1. Teams of the same confederation could not meet in the group stage.[8]
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, a penalty shoot-out is used to determine the winner (no extra time is played).[11]
