April 10, 2023, 10:43 PM
April 10, 2023, 10:43 PM
FIFA predicts this year’s women’s soccer World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will be a “turning point” that will propel the sport to a new level, with the goal of eventually catching up with the men’s tournament.
A hundred days before the start of the World Cup in July, FIFA’s head of women’s football, Sarai Bareman, told NewsCorp Australia that They expect more than 2,000 million viewers, twice as many as in the previous edition, in France, won by the United States.
A record attendance at the stadiums is also expectedwith 650,000 tickets already sold.
“People will say, ‘That was a turning point that changed everything and took the game to the next level'”Bareman said in these statements published on Tuesday by NewsCorp.
“And that in every aspect: ccommercially, participation, popularity and growth,” he added.
Born in New Zealand but a former Samoan international, Bareman said that the ultimate goal is to develop the tournament to rival the men’s and achieve equal pay between men and women.
“We know that the men’s World Cup is the first source of income for FIFA and soccer and that generates a surplus of 5,000 million dollars per edition. And that’s a clear goal for women’s football,” she said.
“We want to reach that level. The first World Cup for men was in 1930 and it was not until 61 years later that the first women’s World Cup was introduced. We are still in infancy as a product,” she explained.
Despite Bareman’s intentions, vSeveral television networks submitted lower offers for the rights broadcasting of the event, a move called “unacceptable” by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
There is concern about games played late at night or early in the morning in lucrative parties like Europe and America.
“We have to hold the line and guarantee the good for the next generations of female footballers to receive the opportunities enjoyed by their male counterparts,” Bareman said.
“We can only do this by ensuring that its commercial value is recognised,” he added.
