http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5792530,00.htmlDespite still falling far behind its male parallel in terms of popularity, it's plain to see that women's football is taking big strides towards reaching a wider audience.
With the launch of the under-20 women's World Cup in Germany this week, FIFA is hoping to break the all-time ticket sales record for an U-20 tournament, which was set at 190,000 two years ago in Mexico. This year's edition is a forerunner to the 2011 Women's World Cup, which will also be played in Germany.
More than 170,000 tickets have already been sold for the 32 games being played over the next three weeks of the junior championship, with the German Football Association confident of selling more on match days.
Ticket sales for the U-20 championships have been very promising
In its first group stage match, Germany's U-20 side cruised to a comfortable 4-2 win over Costa Rica in front of 24,000 fans, and will go into post-match training eyeing a win over their next opponents, Colombia, on Friday.
The tournament is a shot in the arm for the women's game, which has had a hard time getting public attention in Germany, despite the presence of a well-organized league spread over two divisions. Many people still feel it lacks the intensity of the men's game.
But thanks to the success of the senior women's team, the profile of women's football is growing. Germany are two-time defending world champions and have won the last five UEFA European Women's Championships.
Tickets and infos...
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