With a flourish of pyrotechnics and a shot on net by Christine Sinclair, FIFA unveiled the official emblem for the 2015 Women's World Cup in Vancouver today. The 24-nation event will be played in six cities across Canada.
Sinclair was in attendance for the announcement alongside national coach John Herdman and a selection of teammates from the women's team.
The official unveiling in Vancouver coincides with events in each of the five other host cities - Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton - where the composite logos for the event were also presented.
The 2015 World Cup will be the biggest in the history of Women's soccer as the event expands from its 16-team format to include 24 nations from around the globe.
Canada has qualified automatically as hosts and will be joined by five entries from Asia, three from Africa, eight from Europe, three from North America, two from South America, one from Oceania and one wild card team from the Americas.
The popularity of women's soccer reached an all-time high this past summer as Canada's Olympic team earned a bronze medal at the London Games. After a courageous battle with the American team in the tournament semifinal, Canada bested France to earn Canada's first medal in a traditional team sport since 1936.
Sinclair scored an Olympic record six goals in the tournament to claim the Golden Boot. Her performance was highlighted by a hat trick against the Americans in the semifinal. That performance helped earn her the Canadian Female Soccer Player of the Year Award in addition to the Lou Marsh.
The World Cup will be held in June and July of 2015. Canada was awarded the World Cup by acclamation in March of 2011 after Zimbabwe - the only other nation to bid for the tournament - withdrew.
