Exactly 605 days before the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011™ kicks off in Germany, the Organising Committee's countdown was launched in the country's southernmost venue, Augsburg. Anticipation was the order of the day at the popular series of events which provided 400 guests, including the city's mayor Dr Kurt Gribl, Karl-Heinz Riedle and FC Augsburg director of football Andreas Rettig, with a whole host of information about the forthcoming tournament.

"Augsburg was a real launch pad for me and my career," said Karl-Heinz Riedle as he accepted OC President Steffi Jones' nomination to become a FIFA World Cup™ ambassador for a city which is steeped in footballing tradition. "Augsburg will help the first ever Women's World Cup in Germany in 2011 to scale new heights."

Riedle will be responsible for promoting the venue along with Magdalena Neuner. The multiple biathlon world champion, who was named German sportswoman of the year in 2007, is the only Bavarian member of "The magnificent eleven", a team of female celebrities from all walks of life, and will be heavily involved in operations in the only Bavarian city to be hosting Germany 2011 matches.

Thousands flocked to the family fan fest at the Augsburg Arena entitled "DFB hautnah" ("German football up close") which involved plenty of fun and interaction as part of the build-up to the match involving the best two women's teams in the world, Germany and USA, which was sold out long in advance.

Steffi Jones, German Football Association (DFB) vice-president Hannelore Ratzeburg and her fellow board member Rainer Koch were on hand before the match to welcome a number of prominent American guests as the countdown to the FIFA Women's World Cup officially began in the city. The visitors included Philip D. Murphy, the new US ambassador to Germany, who was happy to reveal that he is a great fan of women's football, and Mia Hamm, twice voted FIFA Women's World Player and a household name in her native land.

'Make 2011 an incredible tournament'
It was a proud moment for Steffi Jones when she was able to introduce the 1991 and 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup and 1996 and 2004 Olympic gold-medal winner as an international ambassador for Germany 2011.

"No other woman has had such a strong and positive impact on women's football as Mia Hamm," the OC president enthused. "When we played together at Washington Freedom, she set a great example to me in terms of social responsibility. I'm delighted to have her in our team as she will help to foster an excellent image for the Women's World Cup overseas."

"I was here in Germany in 2006 and lived out the fairy-tale as a fan, and now as an ambassador it will be my job to make sure that 2011 is also an incredible tournament," said 37-year-old Hamm. "The Women's World Cup 2011 is definitely going to set new standards."

Koch to head OC venue office
Dr Rainer Koch will be very much involved in making sure that the tournament lives up to expectations. The DFB vice-president is also President of the Bavarian FA and as such head of the OC venue office in Augsburg. This, like the other branch offices in the various venues, will play an important role in organising the first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.

"The incredible atmosphere at the USA match reflects the enthusiasm in the city and indeed the whole region," said Dr Koch in reference to the spectacular events both in and around the Arena. "You can really feel the groundswell of support, and we need to keep the momentum going."

City Series tickets on sale
This momentum and the anticipation of the event will hopefully manifest itself in the sale of tickets, which also got underway in Augsburg on 29 October 2009. In conjunction with mayor Dr Kurt Gribl and Tatjana Haenni, FIFA Head of Women's Competitions, DFB general secretary Wolfgang Niersbach presented the various different ticketing possibilities along with the respective prices and sales periods, beginning with the excellent-value City Series tickets.

"Your city - your matches" is the slogan for these tickets which are already available for all four matches to be held in Augsburg, including a high-profile quarter-final.

"Augsburg gave off a clear signal with this match and the various events associated with it. We want to see the 'sold out' signs going up again in 2011 for every single World Cup match, and I am optimistic that every match will be a sell-out, because it is a great experience that everybody can afford," said Steffi Jones at the end of the countdown, referring to the very reasonable prices for the tickets to the women's football extravaganza in two years' time.