By Tom Degun
June 20 – Azerbaijan 2012 has revealed that the Official Draw Ceremony for the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup will take place on July 6 at the International Mugam Centre (pictured) in Baku.
The draw will be held at 19.00 local time with the nations of China, Japan, Korea, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Canada, Mexico, United States, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and New Zealand having qualified for the event.
Azerbaijan join them in the pot by virtue of being the host nation while UEFA’s two remaining representatives will be determined by June 29, taking it to a total of 16 teams in the competition.
The draw will decide the fixtures for the group stage which will be played in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and Lankaran between September 22 and October 13.
Dignitaries attending the Official Draw Ceremony in Baku are set to include Azerbaijan 2012 chairman Hany Abo Rida, UEFA Executive Committee member Karen Espelund, Georgian Football Federation (GFF) President Domenti Sichinava and high profile footballers such as former Germany player Dietmar Hamann and former Holland midfielder Ronald de Boer.
Among the musical performers at the event will be the Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan Sevda Alekberzade while after the ceremony, a public concert will take place in the National Park in Baku where renowned German singer Oceana will be on stage.
As part of the entertainment programme at the public concert, the 2011 world freestyle football champion Kitti Szász (pictured above) will also be on stage with three other international freestyle football stars to demonstrate their talents.
The 2012 tournament will be the third edition of the competition and it was awarded to Azerbaijan by FIFA in March 2010.
One of the key aims of the competition is to help contribute to the development of women’s football in Azerbaijan, which has historically had little attention in the country.
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