The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September 20 to October 12, 2003, at six venues in six cities across the country. The tournament was won by Germany, who became the first country to win both the men's and women's World Cup.
In association football, the referee is the person responsible for interpreting and enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. The referee is the final decision-making authority on all facts connected with play, and is the match official with the authority to start and stop play and impose disciplinary action against players and coaches during a match.
Mary Abigail Wambach is an American retired soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U.S. women's national soccer team from 2003 to 2015, earning her first cap in 2001. As a forward, she currently stands as the highest all-time goal scorer for the national team and is second in international goals for both female and male soccer players with 184 goals, behind Canadian Christine Sinclair. Wambach was awarded the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first American woman to win the award in ten years. She was included on the 2015 Time 100 list as one of the most influential people in the world.
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States of America in international women's soccer. The team is governed by United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF.
The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but the outbreak of SARS in that country forced that event to be moved to the United States. FIFA immediately granted the 2007 event to China, which meant that no new host nation was chosen competitively until the voting was held for the 2011 Women's World Cup.
The Canada women's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada.
Christine Margaret Sinclair is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a forward and captains both National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) club Portland Thorns FC and the Canadian national team. An Olympic gold medallist, two-time Olympic bronze medallist, CONCACAF champion, and 14-time winner of the Canada Soccer Player of the Year award, Sinclair is the world's all-time leader for international goals scored for men or women with 190 goals, and is one of the most-capped active international soccer players with more than 300 caps. She is also the second soccer player of either sex to score at five World Cup editions, preceded by Marta, later equalled by Cristiano Ronaldo. She has been shortlisted for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year seven times, in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2016.
Hope Amelia Stevens is an American former football goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. After playing at the collegiate level for the University of Washington, she played professionally for the Philadelphia Charge in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). When the WUSA folded after her first season, she traveled to Europe to play for the top division leagues in Sweden and France. From 2009 to 2011, she played in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) for Saint Louis Athletica, Atlanta Beat and magicJack. After the WPS ceased operations in early 2012, she played for the Seattle Sounders in the W-League. She most recently played for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.
The association football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics was held from 25 July to 11 August, and was the only sport to begin before the official opening day of the Olympic Games, two days before the opening ceremony. It was also the only sport to be held at multiple venues outside London, with Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Coventry and Cardiff all hosting matches. The finals were played at Wembley Stadium. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to send their senior women's and men's under-23 national teams to participate; men's teams were allowed to augment their squads with three players over the age of 23. Five hundred and four football players competed for two sets of gold medals.
In association football, an assistant referee is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the Laws, at most organised levels of football the match officiating crew consists of the referee and at least two assistant referees. The responsibilities of the various assistant referees are listed in Law 6, "The Other Match Officials". In the current Laws the term "assistant referee" technically refers only to the two officials who generally patrol the touchlines, with the wider range of assistants to the referee given other titles.
Alexandra Morgan Carrasco is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker. She is the captain of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professional soccer in the United States, and the United States women's national soccer team. She co-captained the United States women's national soccer team with Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe from 2018 to 2020.
The 2010 Women's Professional Soccer All-Star Game was the second WPS All-Star Game, taking place on June 30, 2010. Thirty-six players were divided into two teams with the top US vote-getter and the top international vote-getter (Marta) as captains. Marta's XI defeated Abby's XI by five to two.
Mark "Viva Mexico" Geiger is an American sports administrator and former soccer referee. He is the senior director of match officials at the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which oversees domestic referees in Major League Soccer (MLS). Geiger previously officiated in MLS and was on the FIFA International Referees List from 2008 to 2019. At the international level, Geiger refereed the 2012 Olympics, the 2013, 2015, and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cups, and the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups. At the 2014 World Cup, he became the first referee from the United States to officiate a knockout match at a World Cup tournament. Before becoming a full-time referee, Geiger was a high school mathematics teacher.
The women's football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics was held in London and five other cities in the United Kingdom from 25 July to 9 August. Associations affiliated with FIFA were invited to enter their women's teams in regional qualifying competitions, from which 11 teams, plus the hosts Great Britain reached the final tournament. There are no age restrictions for the players participating in the tournament. It is the first major FIFA affiliated women's tournament to be staged within the United Kingdom, and marked the first time a team representing Great Britain took part in the women's tournament.
The history of the United States women's national soccer team began in 1985 — the year when the United States women's national soccer team played its first match.
The 2012 Olympic women's soccer semifinal between Canada and the United States was played at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, on August 6, 2012. In a match that went into extra time, the U.S. won 4–3 to advance to the final against Japan.
