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Paris (AFP)
Five weeks before the kickoff of the Women's World Cup in France, the Montparnbade Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Paris, is bursting with activity.
It's here, on the 49th floor and with breathtaking views of the French capital, that the tournament organizers are working to set everything up for a month – from June 7 to July 7 – where women's football will be at home. Honor like never before.
And yet, the organizers admit that they were surprised by the magnitude of the demand for tickets by foreign fans.
"We did not see it coming," said Erwan Le Prevost, head of the local organizing committee.
While the opening match will take place at the Parc des Princes in Paris and the semifinals and final will take place in Lyon, these meetings will also take place in some of the smallest French provincial cities, from Nice , on the Mediterranean coast. in Valenciennes in the far north.
"We did not always choose the big stadiums because we did not want empty stadiums," said AFP Noel Le Graet, president of the French Football Federation.
Yet, of the 1.3 million tickets sold for the 52 games, at prices ranging from nine to 84 euros (10-94 dollars), more than 720 000 have already been sold.
"We have already reached our goal in terms of ticket sales and we are now going beyond that – tickets for the semi-finals, final and opening match have been sold in 48 hours," said Le Grate, pleasantly surprised.
– Unfounded fears –
"We have the Women's World Cup in 2015. When you get it, you tell yourself that you are going to have to find stadiums and fill them.
"In the beginning, the possible host cities did not really push each other against each other to make themselves known." I was a little scared by the Parc des Princes, but the match was not a big one. opening was sold in five minutes. "
France will face South Korea in search of a first World Cup success.
In all, seven matches have been played to date, including the Netherlands against Cameroon at the Stade du Hainaut (25 000 seats) in Valenciennes on 15 June.
This will include up to 10,000 Dutch fans who will cross Belgium for the match.
Although not all matches are sold out, the organizers certainly should not have been surprised by the degree of interest shown by France and the world as the United States prepares to defend their crown on French soil.
Attendance is on the rise everywhere. Lyon beat Paris Saint-Germain recently, while in France, more than 50,000 people watch Manchester City against West Ham, expected to record an audience record for a women's FA Cup final.
In March, Atletico Madrid beat Barcelona in Spain with a world record for a club match of more than 60,000 players.
Large crowds will be the norm throughout the months of June and July as well, but from a safety standpoint, the Women's World Cup is far less painful than the Euro 2016.
Three years ago, the European demonstration of men was overshadowed by terrorist fears and hooliganism. English and Russian fans clashed in hideous scenes in Marseille.
A different supporter profile will be present this time.
"It will be nearly 30% of children in the stadiums, it will be very family-friendly with all the good sides of football," Le Prévost said.
"There will be no oppressive atmosphere as there was often during the euro."
? AFP 2019
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