Brazil forward Marta controls the ball during a training session for the 2012 Summer Olympics in Cardiff Tuesday. — APMike CollettLONDON – With the eyes of the world focused on London as the start of the summer Olympics edges ever closer, the Welsh capital of Cardiff is gearing up to host the first event of the entire Games two days before Friday's Opening Ceremony. Britain and New Zealand's women's soccer teams start the chase for medals at the Millennium Stadium Wednesday with between 35-40,000 fans expected for the 1500 GMT kickoff. Women's soccer in Britain rarely attracts crowds of more than 5,000 people. The Olympic soccer tournaments, comprising 16 men's teams and 12 women's are too long to be accomodated within the Games timeframe and so have to start before the Opening Ceremony. LOCOG, the London organizing committee, decided several years ago not to stage the opening soccer games in London because they did not want to take attention away from the official start of the Games on July 27. Cardiff got the nod ahead of Glasgow's Hampden Park. Welsh sporting hero Lynn Davies, winner of the Long Jump gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and now the president of UK Athletics, said there was a huge feelgood factor over the honor. “It's fantastic for Cardiff and for Wales that we are staging the first event of the Games, as Cardiff really is a city of sport" he said recently. “I understand women's football is one of our fastest growing sports and for them to play in front of a big crowd in the Olympics at the Millennium Stadium will be a fantastic motivation for everyone involved," he added. Cardiff is one of the six venues being used for Olympic soccer around Britain and is used to hosting huge sporting events. Eleven Olympic matches in both the men and women's competitions, including the men's bronze medal match on Aug.10, will be held there and Welshman Ryan Giggs, the captain of the men's team, says he is looking forward to playing in his home town against Uruguay on August 1. “I am looking forward to it enormously" the Manchester United player told reporters at Olympic Park. Cardiff was the setting for the 1958 Empire Games, now the Commonwealth Games, is the home of Wales rugby and hosted six FA Cup finals between 2001 and 2006 while Wembley was being re-built in London. In 2009 it staged Test cricket for the first time. Wednesday's game will mark the first Olympic match by a combined British team since 1960, when Great Britain's men played at the 1960 edition in Rome. — Reuters
