FIFA threatens to deprive the European public of the Women’s World Cup

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, threatened “not to broadcast” the Women’s World Cup of soccer in the big European countries if the offers of their broadcasters continue to be too lower than expectations, according to a statement from the body on Tuesday.

“To be perfectly clear, we consider as a moral and legal obligation our refusal to sell the Women’s World Cup,” which will be held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20, the leader said Monday at a World Trade Organization round table.

For months, the pattern of world football fight against “unacceptable” proposals of the main European broadcasters for its most important women’s tournament, “20 to 100 times less than those received for the World Cup” for men, he said on Monday.

due to time differencenegotiations have become particularly difficult in Europe and they have not crystallized with the “big five countries” of soccer (Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy and France), when FIFA has already signed with American, Canadian or Brazilian broadcasters.

“Consequently, if the broadcasters continue to be unfair to the women’s World Cup and women, We will see ourselves in the obligation of not broadcasting the Women’s World Cup in these five big European countries”, threatened Gianni Infantino.

The leader recalled that broadcasters paid “between 100 and 200 million dollars” for the men’s World Cup, but they are only willing to offer “1 to 10 million dollars for the women’s World Cup” when their audiences represent “around 50 to 60%” of the men’s tournament.

Regarding the time difference, he considered that it is true that the parties “they will not be broadcast in prime time in Europe” but they would take place “at 9 or 10 in the morning, which is still very reasonable.”