The decision was agreed on by the Executive Committee of the International Football Federation (FIFA). President Joseph Blatter of FIFA stressed that women’s soccer in Uzbekistan has been advancing terrifically, the reason why the young Central Asian country is granted the right to host such an imposing tournament Initially, the 2012 World Cup among female youth teams was planned to take place in Vietnam, but FIFA has come to the conclusion that the country was not yet ready to hold such a major sports event. Meanwhile the attention paid to the development of sports in Uzbekistan, and women’s football in particular, can become a guarantee of a successful organization of this competition.

Indeed, in the years of independence the country’s leadership has time after time adopted a variety of documents aimed at promoting football in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan has rich experience in organizing major soccer events. Over the past five years, the country hosted the final stages of the continental football and futsal championship. In 2006, Tashkent hosted both the Asian futsal championship and junior tournament of the continent. This time Uzbekistan Football Federation has offered FIFA the stadiums of the capital city, Samarqand, Bukhoro, Qarshi, Muborak and Ghuzor. “We are pleased that FIFA entrusted us to hold the World Championship, because it will have a huge impact on the development of female soccer in the country, and we will make every effort to organize the competitions among 20-yearold players at the highest level,” first vice president of Uzbekistan Football Federation Sardor Rakhmatullayev said. Noting that FIFA adequately praised the long work of Uzbekistan government by entrusting it the World Cup, chairmanof the Women’s Football Association of Uzbekistan Alisher Sultanov said: “Uzbekistan deservingly won the right to host the World Cup. A long way was past and a lot of efforts were made for this. And, of course, the state support to the development of female football deserves special mentioning. I believe that the news which delighted the entire Uzbek nation is the fruit of the republic’s President’s attention to development of football. Seven years ago, when creating FC Sevinch in Qarshi we hardly gathered 10 girls. And today, there are over 150 girls playing football.”

The same was stated in August last year by FIFA specialist on women’s soccer development Monica Staab: “Qarshi particularly amazed me with just perfect conditions for the development of women’s football. If the situation will be the same in other regions, you will reach a completely new level.” The World Cup will certainly play major role in this.