The initial impulse was provided from the very pinnacle of government. "The Chancellor has declared her support for our aim of hosting the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany for the first time. That gave us the foundation we needed for our decision to approach FIFA with a bid," explained German Football Association (DFB) President Dr Theo Zwanziger, speaking in spring 2006 just a few weeks ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™.

Just under 18 months later, another motivational message from Angela Merkel helped the DFB to a resounding victory. The Zurich clocks showed precisely 12 minutes past three in the afternoon on 30 October 2007 when FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter announced that the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup would be hosted by Germany in summer 2011. The DFB had achieved its goal with a relatively short but extremely intensive bid campaign.

Borrowing from the German football saying, "post-match is pre-match," the DFB officially concluded its organisational functions for the 2006 FIFA World Cup while simultaneously launching its bid to host the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011. On 1 March 2007, exactly 235 days after the FIFA World Cup Final between Italy and France in Berlin, the DFB returned to the same location to present a final review of the 2006 event, and kick off the bid for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011.

"Following this fantastic men's FIFA World Cup, our declared aim is to stage an equally thrilling women's tournament for fans from all over the world. Germany is leading the way in women's football," commented Dr Zwanziger. In a video message, the Chancellor promised full governmental support. "We are all hoping we succeed in attracting millions of fans back to Germany, ready to enjoy the excellence of women's football."

The launch event also featured the unveiling of the slogan, "Wiedersehen bei Freunden - Welcome back," and the logo for the bid. The emblem, symbolising "Arena Germany" by showing a player shooting a ball out of a stadium and into the world, was an expression of the global significance of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Current DFB General Secretary Wolfgang Niersbach introduced the bid committee, headed by DFB President Dr Zwanziger and comprising German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) President Thomas Bach, DFB vice-president Engelbert Nelle, DFB board member Hannelore Ratzeburg and DFB Women's Football department head Heike Ullrich.

Even at this early stage, 24 locations had expressed an interest in Host City status for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011. On 22 March 2007, the DFB despatched official tender documents to a total of 36 cities. By the application deadline on 31 April 2007, 23 cities had tendered official bids.

Following a DFB Executive Committee meeting on 11 May 2007, the association released a list of 12 official Host City candidates, even though FIFA only requires four to six stadiums. Alongside 2006 FIFA World Cup Host Cities Berlin and Frankfurt, the list comprises Monchengladbach, Augsburg, Bielefeld, Bochum, Dresden, Essen, Leverkusen, Magdeburg, Sinsheim and Wolfsburg.

In releasing a 12-strong list, the DFB wished to place on record its ability to deal with any potential expansion of the starting field for the FIFA Women's World Cup to 20 or 24 nations, and also signify its intention to ensure the Host Cities were distributed as widely as possible around Germany.

France, Switzerland, Canada, Peru and Australia also submitted initial hosting bids. The FIFA Executive Committee had initially planned to name the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 host nation on 31 August 2007, but the decision was postponed until 30 October 2007, in order to await the outcome of the fifth FIFA Women's World Cup from 10 to 30 September in China.

Following the early withdrawal of the Swiss candidature, a further important decision was reached on 27 August 2007. France, whose association had concluded an extensive co-operation agreement with the DFB (later officially ratified by the signatures of association Presidents Jean-Pierre Escalettes and Dr Zwanziger at a DFB Congress on 25 October 2007 in Mainz), withdrew its bid. The DFB was thus the sole remaining European candidate, enjoying unanimous support from the UEFA representatives on the FIFA Executive Committee, with Franz Beckenbauer leading the drive behind the DFB bid.

The tender procedures required the bid dossier with all supporting documentation and government guarantees to be submitted to FIFA by 15 October 2007. The DFB supplied its comprehensive application, a 1,212-page argument in favour of staging the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 in Germany, ahead of time on 12 October 2007.

Following the withdrawals of Peru and Australia, Canada was the last remaining competitor when the bid procedure came to a climax on 30 October 2007. Inspired by the national team's triumph at the FIFA Women's World Cup in China four weeks earlier, the DFB outlined its case in a rounded and factual but equally emotional presentation.

Families' Minister Ursula von der Leyen joined the DFB delegation in Zurich, together with three-time Women's World Player of the Year Birgit Prinz, and her 19-year-old national team-mate Fatmire Bajramaj. The midfielder related how she and her parents fled Kosovo when she was just four years old, thus providing the FIFA Executive with a highly personal example of the power of women's football as a force for social integration in Germany.

The presentation ended with another appearance by the Chancellor on behalf of the DFB. Angela Merkel, away on a state visit to India, was unable to be present in person, but she appealed in a video message to the FIFA President and the committee "to put your faith in us, because we will not disappoint."

A short time later, DFB President Dr Zwanziger showed himself to be a gracious winner with a message of consolation to the defeated Canadians, before expressing pride and gratitude: "It is a huge honour for us to stage the FIFA Women's World Cup."

In 2011, the FIFA Women's World Cup comes to Germany for the first time, to the country which leads the way in women's football, where around a million women and girls play the game under DFB auspices, and where the number of girls' teams has practically doubled to 6,300 since 2001.