With just over three weeks to go before the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand, Nadeshiko Japan supporters are focused not on how far their team will progress, but how they’ll even be able to watch the games in the first place.
As its Group C opener against Zambia on July 22 fast approaches, Japan remains the only major market without a broadcaster for the tournament — a situation that, if not resolved, could limit fans to watching via FIFA’s official streaming service. That would prove a complicated barrier for most casual viewers.
It’s a scenario that could leave the country falling behind its peers in the Americas and Europe, where women’s soccer is growing rapidly both in terms of on-the-pitch quality and commercial interest.