As the age-old cliché has it, football writes its own rules, particularly when it comes to cup competitions. Indeed, that is exactly what the focus was on in Bochum yesterday as the city gears up to stage FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011™, the tournament which is set to catapult the women's game to global status.

The countdown clock in Sinsheim may be going backwards, but there can be no doubt that everybody is looking forward to the opening game in Berlin on 26 June 2011. When Sinsheim first presented itself as a candidate, there were 863 days, 15 hours, 37 minutes and 33 seconds to go until the big kick off. Yesterday, as President of the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011 Local Organising Committee (OC), Steffi Jones and DFB General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach concluded the impressive second round of host city presentations at the Ruhrstadion in Bochum in front of around 200 guests, just 737 days, 17 hours, 34 minutes and 16 seconds remained on the clock.

German supermarket chain REWE was also introduced as an official sponsor of the event, the fourth organisation to lend its support following agreements with Allianz Germany, Commerzbank and Deutsche Telekom. The Cologne-based retailer has already been a key partner of the German Football Association (DFB) since January 2009, helping to fund both the men's and the women's game.

The company will now be assisting the DFB's Organising Committee (OC) as they prepare to host the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup on German soil. "Following the success of our partnership with the men's team, we felt that moving into the women's side of the sport was the next logical step, particularly seeing as we are a food company and that's obviously an area which women can relate to," said Manfred Otterer, Sales Director at REWE.

Many people thought we were crazy when we began the process for 2006 in 2003, but in the end we were proved right and we managed to bring everyone in Germany together. We want everybody to be involved in 2011,
DFB General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach.

Indeed, the outlook is very promising with regard to sponsorship, which is just one of many challenges faced by the DFB and its Organising Committee. Wolfgang Niersbach took time out to talk to FIFA.com about the basic principle behind the countdown events: "Just as we did with the 2006 World Cup, we're hoping to arouse the fans' excitement ahead of the 2011 finals by staging these countdown events in each of the host cities. Many people thought we were crazy when we began the process for 2006 in 2003, but in the end we were proved right and we managed to bring everyone in Germany together. We want everybody to be involved in 2011, as it's not just a DFB event, but something for the whole of Germany to enjoy."

Niersbach was also keen to stress that the tournament itself will need financing not only from official sponsors, but also from ticket sales: "We've calculated that the entire event is going to cost around €27 million, so that needs to be paid for somehow. Without a doubt it's the biggest challenge we face."

That said Steffi Jones and her team have plenty of reasons to be positive following the recent record-breaking 45,000 crowd which turned out to watch the women's international match between Germany and Brazil in Frankfurt in April, not to mention the new sponsorship deal with REWE. The OC President must now turn her attentions to her next challenge, though, as two further stadiums are put to the test: "We've seen what can be achieved in Frankfurt, so now it's great that Sinsheim and Bochum will get the chance to prove themselves by hosting the matches against the Netherlands on 25 July and Russia on 6 August respectively. These games are enormously important for the host cities as it gives them an early chance to see where they are in terms of preparation so that they can work on any necessary improvements."

One date of particular significance in the OC calendar is 29 October 2009, as the pre-sale phase for FIFA Women's World Cup tickets begins. On the same day, the Frauen are due to take on USA in what is sure to be a fantastic game at the FIFA Women's World Cup stadium in Augsburg. "That's when things are really going to get going and I'm sure by then we'll be able to taste the excitement in the air," said Steffi Jones. It's obvious that everyone in Bochum wants to get involved in the promotion of ticket sales too, with several public figures including Bochum culture secretary Ingo Wolf, mayor Ottilie Scholz and even VfL Bochum manager Thomas Ernst all voicing their support.

Bochum's FIFA Women's World Cup ambassadors Shary Reeves and Dariusz Wosz are of course just as keen to help out. Television presenter and entertainer Reeves has said she will "walk the entire length of the country" if she has to in order to get fans keyed up for the upcoming friendly against Russia, the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup next summer and of course the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011, all of which are due to take place - at least in part - in Bochum. Dariusz Wosz, meanwhile, has even said he would dare to wear the VfL Bochum kit in arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion if it meant he could get the crowds going ahead of the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011.