Canada 2015: Record World Cup crowds, last hurrahs & turf wars

The draw for the 2015 Women's World Cup takes place this weekend, and the tournament is shaping up to be the biggest in the history of the women's game.

From the prospect of record crowds watching both in Canada and around the world to the chance to see some of the game's greatest players attempt to lift he trophy for the first time, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the competition, which begins on 6 June.

Here, we take a look at some of the key talking points...

The biggest World Cup yet?

This is the Women's World Cup of firsts.

It's the first time 24 teams will compete, eight more than in the last four tournaments; the first time Canada has hosted a competition played out across the country simultaneously; and the first time a finals has been played over such a long period - 30 days.

With more teams and more players involved than ever before, organisers says they are "confident" they can also attract record crowds.

During the tournament's 52 matches, they expect 1.5 million people to pass through the turnstiles at stadiums across six cities. A further half a billion people (up from 407 million in 2011) are expected to watch on TV around the globe.