FIFA is threatening not to televise the Women’s World Cup in five major European countries unless broadcasters pay more for the media rights.
The offers from broadcasters in the "Big 5” European nations — Italy, Germany, France, the U.K. and Spain — "are still very disappointing and simply not acceptable,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement on the website of soccer's global governing body. "Should the offers continue not to be fair, we will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup into the ‘Big 5’ European countries.”
The 2023 Women’s World Cup is being held in Australia and New Zealand from July. It comes at a time when women’s sports have been smashing attendance and viewing records after surging in popularity.
Infantino said FIFA still had to sell media rights for the tournament to some major markets because offers to date were undervalued. He said revenue will be entirely reinvested in women’s soccer, and public broadcasters in particular had a duty to promote and invest in women’s sports.
A large discrepancy remains between broadcast payments for the men’s and women’s games.
Infantino said viewing figures for the FIFA Women’s World Cup are 50% to 60% of the men’s event, yet broadcasters’ offers in the ‘Big 5’ European countries are 20 to 100 times lower.
"Whereas broadcasters pay $100-200 million for the men’s FIFA World Cup, they offer only $1-10 million for the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” he said. "This is a slap in the face of all the great FIFA Women’s World Cup players and indeed of all women worldwide.”