Shanghai to host women's World Cup final next year

BEIJING, Aug 30 (Reuters) Shanghai will host the opening ceremony and final of the 2007 women's football World Cup finals in September next year, organisers said today.

The 16-nation tournament will open on Sept. 10 at the 35,000-seat Hongkou Stadium, home of Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, with the final taking place on Sept. 30.

The new, 60,000-capacity Olympic Stadium in Tianjin will also host matches, as will existing venues in Wuhan, Chengdu and Hangzhou.

China, the venue for the first women's World Cup in 1991, was supposed to host the 2003 finals but FIFA moved the tournament to the United States because of the SARS epidemic.

Organisers are confident bird flu, which has killed 14 people in China since 2003, will not cause a similar problem this time.

''The Chinese government has powerful measures to handle different kinds of unpredictable issues,'' Nan Yong, chief secretary of the organising committee, told a news conference today.

''Bird flu is not a serious problem at the moment and we have learnt useful experience from the SARS.'' China, runners up at the 1999 World Cup and quarter-finalists in 2003, are currently ranked eighth in the world in women's football.

''I hope our team will play at least six games, which means reaching the last four,'' Chinese Football Association (CFA) secretary general Xie Yalong said.

REUTERS PM PC1638