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TSN Soccer Analyst

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There is something remarkably special about the two small words placed back-to-back.

World Cup.

It draws a wide audience from afar with eyes becoming fixed on it that would more often than not be drawn to distraction if it were called something else.

That is why many sports have a World Cup rather than calling it the World Trophy or World Championships of Football, for example.

Many sports across the globe have enjoyed the 'World Cup bump' and the most popular of them is all is no different.

The next phase of this starts Saturday right here in Canada when a third important word is added.

World Cup draw.

The draw for the Women's World Cup in Ottawa on Saturday is the start of the legacy that will be the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

A legacy that can last beyond a lifetime. Of course, the draw itself is incredibly important for all 24 teams that are involved and it will create plenty of permutations once it is complete but the draw is much more magical than just that.

Ticket holders across Canada and the world will watch the draw very differently than everyone else. These are the lucky ones.

Having already signed up to play a part in the motion picture they now get to see which stars they will be with.

Right now ticket holders in Winnipeg, for example, will be looking at their ticket purchases and anxiously wondering which teams will be slotted in Group D and, therefore, based in the city to play each of their first two group games. Likewise, for Edmonton with Group A, Ottawa in Group B, Vancouver in Group C, Montreal in Group E and Moncton in Group F.

Major tournaments like the World Cup are about much more than what happens on the field. The majority of the players and staff of the countries will be visiting these cities for the first time and will get a thorough look at what makes Canada so great.

Canadians across the country can play a massive part in that as well.

At the 1996 European Championships in England, the Czech Republic team were based in my home city following the draw. They lived amongst us for the best part of three weeks as they went on a magical run to the final. Having interacted with the locals in around the area when training or eating out, for example, they had captured the hearts of many.

The same will happen in Canada next summer.

The majority of the ticket holders will never have seen most of the countries play before and won't know many of their players at the moment.

Saturday's draw (live on TSN1, TSN3 and TSN4 at Noon et/9am pt) is the first step in that process. Memories will be created next summer and after the draw you will know which teams will fuel those memories.

When you talk to people about their past World Cup experiences many of the stories begin on the draw date when they discovered who they would watch.

For such an important event the draw can often frustrate in how it is delivered.

Watching the show that is the FIFA World Cup draw is the opposite of attending a friend's wedding.

Often you'll show your face for the important part, the ceremony when key words are exchanged, but really you can't wait for the music, speeches and party afterwards.

The World Cup draw gives you all of that first but most fans just cannot wait for the draw itself to take place when the true key words are delivered. After shouting terms such as 'get on with it' for the best part of an hour, FIFA then cruelly does exactly that and by the time the draw starts it is like watching it on fast forward with names being allocated into slots quicker than you have time to write them down.

To enjoy it you are best to do a little preparation. If you have tickets or plans to attend certain games in the tournament you can see now which teams will fill those slots before the draw takes place. I had that experience as a fan at the 2006 Men's World Cup and it is a great feeling to see who you have tickets to watch.

The second thing to keep an eye on is who will be grouped with Canada. Canada is the only team that has been secured a slot in the draw, placed as A1 being that they are the hosts. John Herdman's team will play their first two games of the group in Edmonton, including the first on the opening day of the tournament, Saturday June 6. They finish the group in Montreal nine days later.

Being seeded means they will be one of the favourites to win the group but there will be tough teams in pot two that they will be looking to avoid. In case Canada finish second in the group keep an eye out for whoever is placed in Group C. It is one thing for Canada to be given a difficult group but if C is seen as one of the weakest this could help Herdman's side in the knockout stages. If they take that route look to see who get seeded in Group D as they would be the likely quarterfinal opponents.

USA, Japan and Germany will come to Canada as the true favourites to lift the World Cup. Canadians may be hoping none of those teams are given D1 but that is the seed spot those teams will want.

Unlike the Men's World Cup, with 24 teams featured, there are only six seeded teams to top groups at the draw but four are less favourable than A1 and D1 as a quarter final match awaits against a group winner in all of the other groups. The winners of Groups A and D not only play a team that finished third in the last 16 but also a group runner up in the last eight.

In other words, should Canada win the group they will likely avoid bigger obstacles that will face many of their opponents and won't meet a group winner (C or E winners, should they progress) into the semifinals.

There is much work to be done before then but following the tournament on paper is about to get even more fun starting with the draw.

Grab a pen and begin the exciting journey with us on TSN starting Saturday.