By Greg Duke, CNN
June 24, 2011 -- Updated 2034 GMT (0434 HKT)
Brigitte Prinz will be looking to lead Germany to an unprecedented third successive Women's World Cup.
(CNN) -- It is arguably the biggest sporting event in this European summer. A total of 32 matches, involving 16 countries in nine packed stadiums -- the women's soccer World Cup is upon us.
For hosts Germany, it is a chance to enter the record books with a third successive tournament victory. And for a nation who pride themselves on efficiency and organization, no stone is being left unturned in their bid to make soccer history.
"We want this tournament to be a role model for all future World Cup competitions," Heike Ullrich, head of women's football at the German Football Association, told CNN.
"We have been preparing for this tournament for three years, making sure women's soccer is a focal point for the people of Germany, not just at the highest level but at grass roots level as well. All matches are being shown live on German TV, with a minimum of 15 HD cameras.
"It is the biggest event of the German sporting year. We have sold 700,000 tickets for the tournament and all of Germany's matches are completely sold out, including the opening match against Canada on Sunday which will have a capacity crowd of 70,000 in Berlin."
U.S. women in unfamiliar role as World Cup begins
Germany and the United States are traditionally the two powerhouses in women's soccer, having won four of the five tournaments that have been played between them.
However, despite those countries' dominance on the international stage, things are slightly different regarding their domestic leagues.
Women's soccer thrives in the U.S. Not only do they possess the richest league in the world, in terms of player wages, but they also have a fine tradition in bringing young players through the college system.
Despite only six teams making up the Women's Professional Soccer League, it remains the only fully-paid female competition in the world.
And it is backed up by a solid pyramid system, with the second-tier Women's Premier Soccer League consisting of 65 teams spread over 10 divisions.
Unlike Germany, where the 12-team women's Bundesliga includes famous names like Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, in the United States the teams have no affiliation with their male counterparts from Major League Soccer.
But, since it was formed two years, the WPSL has attracted some of the world's stellar names, lured by the wages on offer and the attraction of playing in a country where women's soccer has as much appeal as the men's game.
"More women play soccer than any other sport in the United States, but things really took off after we won the World Cup on home soil in 1999," said Christa Mann, PR manager for Atlanta Beat -- one of the six teams that compete in the WPSL.
"That victory encouraged more young girls to go into the college system to play and resulted in the formation of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) in 2000."
Money problems forced the WUSA to fold in 2003 but, six years later, the WPSL was formed, and is so far proving to be a resounding success.
"We have brought over some of the major superstars of the women's game to play in our league and that is having a positive effect on the overall standard," Mann said.
"At our club, we have average gates of 4,000 and have a large fan base including youth soccer clubs from the local area.
"The league is looking to expand from its current six teams. The goal is to keep on attracting the world's best players, which will hopefully encourage even more homegrown players, resulting in the creation of more teams."
German football expert Rafael Honigstein believes his nation will get behind the team during the World Cup, but doubts if it will raise the profile of women's football to the level it currently enjoys across the Atlantic.
"This tournament has been marketed very well and is riding on the back of the euphoria and good feeling that surrounded Germany following the men's World Cup here in 2006," Honigstein told CNN.
"It will have good TV exposure and has aroused some interest, but that interest is not extended to the club scene. The recent women's FA Cup final, won by Bayern Munich, attracted a gate of just 2,000 fans and when Turbine Potsdam reached the final of the Champions League this year, it barely registered with the German public."
Honigstein said that some of the big men's Bundesliga clubs fund their women's teams, partly "as a politically correct thing to do" and also to attract more women supporters by selling merchandising.
"There is definitely a strong foundation to women's soccer in Germany, which translates to the national team, but I don't think the World Cup will somehow change the profile of the game, even if Germany wins the tournament," he said.
Although other countries in Europe, notably Norway and England, have league set-ups where some players are professional, Germany leads in the way in terms of the European game.
"We always try and think one step ahead," Ullrich said. "For example when FIFA first announced there would be an under-17 women's World Cup in 2008, we immediately set up an under-15 team to play friendly matches and gain experience for when they graduated to the under-17 team.
"It's that level of pre-thinking and structure, backed by the budgets and scouting networks, that keeps our infrastructure solid and enables the national team to always be competitive."
With two World Cups already in the bag, Germany have proved they are the team to beat going into the tournament.
But should the United States retain the crown they last won in 1999, the strength of their own domestic league could well prove to be the reason why.
Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)
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