For the game, for the world, for the women.

Canada made its formal presentation this morning for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011. Both the Canadian Soccer Association (11.30 Zurich) and the Deutscher Fussball-Bund (12.00) made their presentations at FIFA House in front of FIFA executives and media. FIFA president Joseph Blatter will announce the winning bid this afternoon at a press conference (15.00 Zurich / 10.00 ET / 7.00 PT).

The 2011 presentation team included Canadian Soccer Association chairman of the board Dominic Maestracci, FIFA U-20 World Cup National Event Director Peter Montopoli, and women’s national-team player Erin McLeod.

The Canadian bid stressed six key points. Those points were: the growth of women’s soccer in Canada; the commitment to broadcast every match live; the aspiration to sell out every match; the promise to establish a women’s league; the goal to improve the future for women around the world; and the confidence that Canada 2011 will own the country.

Canada has hosted three FIFA World Cups in the past: the second-ever FIFA U-16 World Tournament in 1987, the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in 2002, and the highly-successful FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2007.

Canada 2007 set a FIFA U-20 World Cup record by drawing 1,195,239 spectators to the 52-match tournament. The matches were broadcast to 200 countries and territories around the world. From 30 June to 22 July, at least one in three Canadians watched at least one game on television according to an Angus Reid Strategies poll. An estimated $259.02-million in economic activity was generated in the six cities during the tournament according to the economic impact assessment conducted by the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance.

Women’s soccer has grown significantly in Canada this decade. In 2006, an incredible 42% of registered players were women, twice as much as it was five years earlier before the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Canada 2002. In 2007, Canada participated in its fourth-straight FIFA Women’s World Cup at China 2007. Eight of Canada’s 21 players were silver medalists on the Canada 2002 team, including McLeod, Kara Lang and FIFA World Player of the Year candidate Christine Sinclair.