The U-20 Women’s World Cup bids farewell to Colombia, with the crowning of an Asian champion between Japan and North Korea. There were 23 days of competition, in which the most positive balance for the country was in terms of attendance at the stadiums, with massive support for the National Team’s matches.
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The crowd was in droves for the host team, with an average of 34,250 spectators. This, plus the average for the other teams, around 2,000 per match, leaves, with the final still to come, an average of almost 300,000 spectators for the entire World Cup, a record for the eleven editions of the U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Record number of fans
In their first match against Australia, Colombia brought 32,127 fans to El Campín, in their second match against Cameroon they received 30,644 in the same stadium, and in the last match in the group stage, at the Atanasio Girardot in Medellín, 35,837 people came, against Mexico. For the round of 16 and the quarterfinals, the Pascual Guerrero in Cali was the venue for Colombia’s games.
FIFA, the organization of the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia and the highest governing body in football, announced that Cali, at the Pascual Guerrero stadium, made history with two new records after the large attendance of 37,382 spectators during the match between the Colombian National Team and the Netherlands, for the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
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35,256 spectators attended the game against South Korea and 37,382 against the Netherlands, figures that FIFA celebrated, reporting that Cali broke the record for spectators since the tournament became under-20, meaning it is the city with the highest attendance in all 11 versions, and holds the record for spectators for women’s football in Colombia.
“The people from FIFA told us that they are happy with the Pascual Guerrero stadium, with the fans and with the spectacle that was experienced in the stands. We will continue to support women’s football and be the home of major events,” said the Secretary of Sports and Recreation, Felipe Montoya.
AME754. CALI (COLOMBIA), 09/18/2024.- Japan fans celebrate a goal this Wednesday, in a semi-final match of the U-20 Women’s World Cup between the national teams of Japan and the Netherlands at the Pascual Guerrero stadium in Cali (Colombia). EFE/ Ernesto Guzmán
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The other positive aspect has to do with the investment in stadiums. For example, the Atanasio Girardot had an investment of $5.5 billion destined to the improvement of lighting, dressing rooms, seating, wet areas. In Bogotá, the Mayor’s Office made an investment of more than 9 billion pesos to adapt training venues and the El Campín and Techo stadiums, while Cali received a gift from FIFA, a modern hybrid turf worth $1.5 billion.
Like any event of this magnitude, the Women’s World Cup, which was organized with an investment of 6.995 billion pesos from the Ministry of Sports, brings benefits in terms of tourism and trade. Before the opening whistle, Andrés Santamaría, director of the District Institute of Tourism, said that this World Cup could generate 9,000 direct and indirect jobs in various sectors related to tourism such as hotels, restaurants, transportation and trade. In addition, he estimated that around 20,000 people would visit Bogotá during the tournament.
The sporting
Karla Torres scored a double against the Netherlands.
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In terms of sport, Colombia 2024 has been a competition with outstanding scoring statistics, in which 183 goals have been scored up to the semi-finals, with an average per game of 3.7 goals, with the North Koreans being the most effective with 24 goals in six games for an average of 4 per game.
Of the 183 goals scored at the U-20 World Cup, fifteen were scored by three players: Brazil’s Natália Vendito, Japan’s Maya Hijikata and North Korea’s Il-Son Choe, in a tournament that has had an average of 3.7 goals per game. The great disappointment was the poor football on the Oceanic continent: Australia, New Zealand and Fiji all went out in the first round with three losses. In addition, the South American teams failed to reach the semi-finals.
Colombia had a spectacular first round, with a clean sheet and a full set of victories. They made it past the round of 16 against South Korea, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands. This was a tough blow for a team that aspired to much more and that left a bitter taste in their mouth.
As a challenge after the World Cup, there remains the insistent request from the footballers and fans for Dimayor to strengthen the professional tournament with an annual competition and to provide better guarantees to the athletes.
PAUL ROMERO
Sports
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