Aussie ref gets opening FIFA Women's World Cup game

Australian referee Tammy Ogston will have the honour of controlling the opening match at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup when reigning champions Germany take on Argentina at Shanghai’s Hongkou Stadium on Monday.

Australian referee Tammy Ogston will have the honour of controlling the opening match at the 2007 FIFA Women-s World Cup when reigning champions Germany take on Argentina at Shanghai-s Hongkou Stadium on Monday. It will be an all-Australian trio of matches officials with assistant referee's Sarah Ho of Sydney and Adelaide-based Airlie Keen also appointed.

Brisbane resident Ogston will be the first Australian to officiate at three World Cups and will join only a handful of male or female referees to achieve the feat. The 37-year-old has previously attended the 1999 and 2003 editions of the tournament in the USA and most recently became the first Australian referee to control a FIFA World Stars match when China hosted the World XI last April which coincided with the World Cup draw.

Assistant Referee Ho recently became the first female to officiate in the Hyundai A-League after she was recently named on the panel of match officials for the 2007/08 season.

Meanwhile, the Matildas arrived in Hangzhou on Thursday, and on Friday completed their second training session at full strength in warm and humid conditions.

Australia will be looking to claim their first ever World Cup win on Wednesday when they open their campaign against Ghana in Hangzhou. The Matildas will then meet world number four ranked team Norway on September 15 in the same city, before the final group match against Canada on September 19 in Chengdu.

Colombian Adriana Correa is the referee appointed for Australia-s match against Ghana.

FIFA have announced that a new record of more than 200 territories will be covered by the TV rights holders giving the tournament unprecedented global coverage. This figure compares with the 1999 tournament broadcast in only 67 countries.

These figures mirror a massive world-wide growth in women-s football with registered players now numbering 26 million, an increase of around 20 per cent in an eight year period.

The 16-nation tournament will be held in the cities of Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhan, September 10-30.

Prizemoney has been introduced for the first time with all 16 nations receiving an amount dependant on their performance with USD 1 million for the winners.