FIFA president Gianni Infantino believes that FIFA will be forced not to broadcast the Women’s World Cup if the big European countries don’t improve their bids. On July 22, England will begin its bid for a maiden world championship in Brisbane, but no agreement has yet been made for the European champions’ TV rights in the UK. FIFA president Infantino also singled out Spain, France, Italy, and Germany as potential broadcast partners. Infantino made similar claims at FIFA’s 73rd Congress last month, and he reiterated them on Monday at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) headquarters in Geneva.
“I have urged broadcasters to pay a reasonable sum for media rights to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 once again today. We played a role: FIFA increased prize money to USD 152 million, which is triple what was awarded in 2019 and ten times what it was in 2015 (the year before I was elected FIFA president),” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said about the Women’s World Cup. “The offers from broadcasters, mostly in the “Big 5″ European nations, are still incredibly disappointing and simply unacceptable, especially in light of the following: 1) All rights fees would be paid directly to women’s football, helping us advance efforts for equal rights and pay; and 2) Public broadcasters, in particular, have a responsibility to support and invest in women’s sport.”
The competition, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20–August 20, went up for bid in June 2022, with the deadline for submissions being July 12. It came after the government declared in April 2022 that the Women’s World Cup and the UEFA Women’s EURO would be included in the Listed Events Regime, which only allows free-to-air broadcasters to bid on the “crown jewels” of sporting events.
The PA news agency is aware that constructive negotiations with possible UK broadcasters are underway, but no firm agreement has been reached. Additionally, the 2023 competition will mark the debut of FIFA’s updated commercial structure, which was announced in 2021 and for the first time “unbundled” the women’s game from the men’s, allowing brands to enter into exclusive partnerships for its women’s football programs.
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