Mr. Speaker, the first Under-19 Women's World Soccer Championship will be held here in Canada. Awarded by the Fédération internationale de football association, this prestigious event will run from August 17 to September 1 in Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.
It is an opportunity to hold a new event for a sport whose popularity is increasing steadily. It is also very exciting to see that another high visibility sport event has been awarded to Vancouver which we hope will be the future site of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. As host country Canada will field a team that will proudly represent us at this first Under-19 Women's World Soccer Championship.
I congratulate the Canadian Soccer Association and the organizing committee under the leadership of Mr. Jim Fleming who will be responsible for hosting this wonderful event in Canada.