2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

In 1904, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) , the world football governing body was founded. The first FIFA World Cup took place in Uruguay in 1930.  The FIFA U-20 World Cup, formerly known as the FIFA World Youth Championship, is the world championship of soccer for male players under the age of 20. The first FIFA U-20 World Cup was hosted by Tunisia in 1977.This post deals with the 2007 Under-20 World Cup competition held in various Canadian cities from June 30 to July 22. Over that period, 52 games were played  in six cities: Victoria, Burnaby, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montréal. Several players who competed in the 2007 tournament will be representing their nations at the 2014 World Cup. 

 

Canadian Postal Archives Database

Commemorative Stamp

On June 26, Canada Post Corporation issued a domestic rate (52¢) stamp to mark  the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007.

 "I wanted to create a stamp that captured all the elements of the game," explains stamp designer Debbie Adams of Adams and Associates, in Toronto. "And that also communicated the speed, action and excitement of soccer at its best. The Canadian players featured on the stamp give an incredible sense of movement to the design, while the ball is the epicentre of the game.

 Canada Post Corporation. Canada's Stamp Details, Vol. 16, No. 2, 2007, p. 18-19.

 First Day Covers

I prepared a few non-commercial first day covers for this issue.

Usage to Germany

2007 U-20 World Cup Results

The FIFA website provides an exciting summary of the competition HERE. 

Competitors

Congo, Nigeria, Gambia, Zambia, Japan, Korea DPR, Jordan, Korea Republic, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, USA, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay .

Finishers

1. Argentina
2. Czech Republic
3. Chile
4. Austria 

Attendance

The tournament broke an attendance record that stood since Mexico 1983. Almost 1.2 million fans turned up  to make Canada 2007 the largest single-sport event in the country's history.

 Best Player : Sergio "Kun"  Aguero

Argentinian Sergio Aguero won both official player awards, picking up the Adidas Golden Ball for best player and Golden shoe for top scorer with six goals.

Argentina's number 10 was very much the star of the tournament in Canada. The captain of the Albiceleste impressed not only with his goals and his overall technique but also with his work rate, catching the eye of both the fans and the media representatives who traditionally elect the tournament's best player. Though relatively small at a mere 1.70m, Agüero stood tall for the South Americans, with his impressive performances and above all his goals setting him apart from the rest.

FIFA news release

Aguero who now plays spectacular football for Manchester City in the English Premier League was on the Argentine 2010 World Cup squad, and will be on the 2014 World Cup team. Perhaps Argentina can go beyond the quarter-final stage this year in Brazil.