Pre-game excitement

"Boys, we'll avenge you!" a poster blares in a subway station in downtown Berlin, ahead of the kickoff of the FIFA Women's World Cup in the German capital on Sunday.

Though anticipation is tempered compared to the hype ahead of the men's football event, which Germany hosted five years ago, the Women's World Cup has gained more attention this year than ever before.

Unlike in 2006, fans probably won't be able to watch the competition on every street corner. The Men's World Cup conjured up intense football fever, inspiring locals to drag their televisions down to the street, set up rows of chairs and invite everyone who strolled by to join them.

But fans of the Women's World Cup will have plenty of opportunity to watch the event at smaller venues all over the city.

"It's great fun to be excited together, laugh together, hang out and celebrate the game," said Christine Heinrich, an employee of Laika Bar in Berlin's south end, where a screen has already been installed for fans of the game.

"We expect that it won't be as crowded as it was for the Men's World Cup, but we hope people will come and enjoy and that we'll have a full house."

Few flags, but plenty of fanfare

Goal, a shop for football fans in the center of the city, is also gearing up for the event. Shop owner Tülin Duman has always made space for the women's game, working with local teams and screening important matches. But, this year, she's noticed that women players have nudged their way onto the bookshelves - and customers are loving it.

Rows of figurines in the shape of women players line the shop's display of toy footballers. The tiny stainless steel players sport jerseys from all 16 World Cup teams, including Sweden, Japan and the United States.

"First they only made figures for Brazil and Germany. But there was such demand that they made them for all the other countries too," said Duman, pressing a trigger on a Swedish figurine so that it gave a little kick. "Maybe with the strong demand these women will stay on the market."

As Germany's national women's team gets the attention Duman feels they've long earned, she hopes their presence on the field will stop being such a novelty.

"I hope the tournament won't just be treated like an add-on, or something odd. I hope [women's football] will become normal in Germany," she said. "The players are successful, the league is exciting. … So it's time for attitudes to change."

Women players descend on Berlin

And it won't just be the world's top players who will be causing the buzz in Berlin. Recreational women's teams from around the world will be arriving to participate in the Discover Football festival, which happens alongside the World Cup. The festival showcases female talent and uses women's football to empower women and girls.

The organizers have rented a 5,000-seat stadium in Berlin's Kreuzberg district and say this is the real opportunity to spark new interest in the women's game, which suffers from a lack of exposure.

"It was really important to us to do the public viewing, because there will be so few [opportunities] available," said Valerie Assmann, an organizer with Discover Football.

She explains that one of the biggest reasons why women's football isn't as popular as its male counterpart is that it's almost never broadcast on television. "People can't really watch, or get used to it. They don't see that women can play football."

Assmann's colleague, Sonja Klümper, says advertising for the World Cup has been cluttered with tired clichés about beautiful women and the beautiful game, but that there will at least be people watching this time around. "When people see that women's soccer is just as fast, professional and good as men's soccer, there will be a new acceptance," she said.

Both are excited about Sunday's game. "We're all going to the opener, Germany against Canada," said Assmann. "We've had the tickets for ages. We've been excited about it for so long."

Klümper says she can't wait to see the national team play at the Olympic Stadium. "I'm curious what it will be like because the stadium is so huge. And it's supposed to be sold out," she said.

In contrast to the week before the Men's World Cup in 2006, you won't yet see fans wearing football jerseys or draping flags over their shoulders as they march down the street singing. Posters of the women's teams aren't tacked up on the walls of the tourist shops around the Brandenburg Gate, the way they usually are for the men's event.

But that may change as Germans realize they are about to host one of the most popular women's-only sporting events ever held.

Author: Saroja Coelho
Editor: Martin Kuebler