![]() ![]() Mexico, Great Britain, Japan and North Korea had made great progress in strengthening their teams as the sport became more widely established in their countries. Germany, Norway and China would be formidable opponents. In fact, the US was not even the unanimous favorite anymore, despite being named the #1 team in FIFA's first ever women's national team list (They would eventually lose that spot). Great strides had been made in the women's game in many countries, and the US no longer stood head and shoulders over the rest of the world. The women's soccer landscape had changed greatly in the four years since the last Cup. But it would be an unexpected chance for many of the heralded veterans of the US National Team to play before the home crowd one last time in a major event. This caused a scramble as the USSF was forced to secure stadiums, arrange logistics and adjust the television package to accommodate the new locations, and fit the games into the already crowded fall sports schedule. The United States received an unexpected surprise when Women's World Cup 2003 was moved from China because of the SARS epidemic, and awarded to the US. On the media front, the wishes of US soccer fans were finally realized with the launch of Gol-TV on DISH Network, the first 24-hour soccer channel in the United States. Although much of the film dealt with cultural turmoil and women's emancipation, the soccer action was prominent, and the film was successful in the united States, providing the sport with some welcome exposure to a wide audience. Soccer received a major boost with the release of the critically acclaimed film "Bend it like Beckham", an intelligent and insightful movie about culture clash in London focused on a young Indian woman's infatuation of the famous English player. teams advanced from pool play in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, and the A-League consolidated to a smaller, but stronger arrangement. Meanwhile, MLS had a solid season, but the WUSA was not so fortunate, ceasing operations after their season. FIFA waffled seven months later, and took 1/2 spot away from Oceania and gave it to South America to appease their protests. ![]() Ironically, European partisans complained the loudest even though they retained 14 spots, nearly half of the entire field. CONCACAF went from 3.0 to 3.5 slots, and South America went from 4.5 to 4.0, with Europe losing 1/2 slot to Oceania. There was heated reaction to FIFA reallocation of Federation slots for World Cup 2006. Also on board were the Confederations Cup, the Pan-American games, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the U-17 and U-20 world championships, and the Championsworld Series, highlighted by Manchester United's first tour of the United States since 1960. Most prominently, the Women's World Cup returned unexpectedly to the United States due to the SARS scare in China, which had been originally awarded the tournament. Open Cup | Americans Abroad | International Tours | The College Game | Awards & TournamentsĪlthough some would consider 2003 an "off" year, falling between the Men's World Cup and the Olympics, it certainly contained a full schedule for all concerned. Maintained and written by David Litterer Women's World Cup 2003 | MLS | WUSA | USL | A-League | USL-PSL | USL-PDL | W-League | Super Y-League | MPSL | MISL | Championsworld Series | Men's National Team | Women's National Team | Confederations Cup | CONCACAF Gold Cup | Pan-American Games | World Youth Championships (U20) | U-17 World Cup | U.S. The Year in American Soccer, 2003 The Year in American Soccer, 2003 ![]()
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