Women's World Cup set for lift-off with interest at all-time high
TV blackout averted
Nevertheless, the prize pot still pales in comparison with the $440 million dished out at the 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar.
Meanwhile, a standoff over the sale of broadcast rights in the biggest European countries — Germany, the U.K., France, Italy and Spain — was only resolved last month.
The threat of a TV blackout was averted late in the day after FIFA president Gianni Infantino had openly criticized the amount of money being offered by broadcasters.
Knee-injury plague
Rapinoe was one of the U.S. stars who led their fight for equal pay, resulting in a landmark collective-bargaining deal last year, meaning the country's men and women would evenly share World Cup prize money paid by FIFA.
The buildup to this tournament also saw Canada's national team, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion, threaten to strike in a row over pay, funding and contractual issues.
Meanwhile, France players rebelled over conditions in their national team setup, and a change of coach followed.
That meant some of France's top names would be at the tournament after all, having threatened to pull out, but the World Cup will still be marred by the absence of numerous leading players because of serious knee injuries.
England captain Leah Williamson and star striker Beth Mead have been ruled out, as have prolific Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema, French forwards Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, and American duo Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson.
Spain's Alexia Putellas, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, will be there, fit again after spending nine months out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
England leads charge
Together with Australia, European sides will be the chief threat to a U.S. team bidding to become the first to win three Women's World Cups in a row.
European champion England will lead the charge, together with Spain, Germany, Sweden and 2019 runner-up the Netherlands.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup will feature an expanded field of 32 teams for the first time in the tournament's history. | REUTERS
BY ANDY SCOTT
AFP-JIJI
Jul 18, 2023
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – The first 32-team FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, with the United States favored to win an unprecedented third consecutive title in a landmark month for women's soccer.
It has been a rapid expansion for a tournament that started in 1991 and featured only 16 teams as recently as 2011, then 24 in France four years ago when the U.S. women retained the trophy.
That reflects a dramatic rise in interest in women's soccer over the last decade beyond its traditional heartland of the United States, and a swarm of European sides will be aiming to snatch their title.
Australia's Matildas, led by prolific Chelsea forward Sam Kerr, will hope to make the most of their home advantage and go all the way to the final in Sydney on Aug. 20.
This World Cup is not just bigger in terms of the number of competing nations.
FIFA has tripled the prize money compared with 2019 and the total pot, which also covers compensation for clubs releasing players, is up from $50 million four years ago to $152 million.
It is a vast hike on the $15 million offered in 2015, and confirmation that it is a boom time for women's soccer.
Big crowds at club and international matches, particularly in Europe, are more evidence that the game is at an all-time high.
BY ANDY SCOTT
AFP-JIJI
Jul 18, 2023
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – The first 32-team FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, with the United States favored to win an unprecedented third consecutive title in a landmark month for women's soccer.
It has been a rapid expansion for a tournament that started in 1991 and featured only 16 teams as recently as 2011, then 24 in France four years ago when the U.S. women retained the trophy.
That reflects a dramatic rise in interest in women's soccer over the last decade beyond its traditional heartland of the United States, and a swarm of European sides will be aiming to snatch their title.
Australia's Matildas, led by prolific Chelsea forward Sam Kerr, will hope to make the most of their home advantage and go all the way to the final in Sydney on Aug. 20.
This World Cup is not just bigger in terms of the number of competing nations.
FIFA has tripled the prize money compared with 2019 and the total pot, which also covers compensation for clubs releasing players, is up from $50 million four years ago to $152 million.
It is a vast hike on the $15 million offered in 2015, and confirmation that it is a boom time for women's soccer.
Big crowds at club and international matches, particularly in Europe, are more evidence that the game is at an all-time high.
TV blackout averted
Nevertheless, the prize pot still pales in comparison with the $440 million dished out at the 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar.
Meanwhile, a standoff over the sale of broadcast rights in the biggest European countries — Germany, the U.K., France, Italy and Spain — was only resolved last month.
The threat of a TV blackout was averted late in the day after FIFA president Gianni Infantino had openly criticized the amount of money being offered by broadcasters.
Australia captain Sam Kerr will be tasked with leading the cohost to the Aug. 20 final in Sydney.
| AFP-JIJI
"FIFA is stepping up not just with words but with actions. Unfortunately, this is not the case of everyone across the industry. Broadcasters and sponsors have to do more in this respect," Infantino said in March, adding that global soccer's governing body was receiving offers amounting to just 1% of what was being paid for the men's tournament.
In Japan, a deal to avoid a blackout was only reached last week.
"It is actually terrible business if you are not tuning in," said Megan Rapinoe, the veteran superstar of the U.S. team and a cultural icon who transcends the sport. "You are missing out on a large cultural moment. This is the premier women's sporting event in the world bar none and this is a paradigm shift globally, not just in the U.S."
It will be the 38-year-old's last World Cup after she announced she plans to retire at the end of this season.
"FIFA is stepping up not just with words but with actions. Unfortunately, this is not the case of everyone across the industry. Broadcasters and sponsors have to do more in this respect," Infantino said in March, adding that global soccer's governing body was receiving offers amounting to just 1% of what was being paid for the men's tournament.
In Japan, a deal to avoid a blackout was only reached last week.
"It is actually terrible business if you are not tuning in," said Megan Rapinoe, the veteran superstar of the U.S. team and a cultural icon who transcends the sport. "You are missing out on a large cultural moment. This is the premier women's sporting event in the world bar none and this is a paradigm shift globally, not just in the U.S."
It will be the 38-year-old's last World Cup after she announced she plans to retire at the end of this season.
Knee-injury plague
Rapinoe was one of the U.S. stars who led their fight for equal pay, resulting in a landmark collective-bargaining deal last year, meaning the country's men and women would evenly share World Cup prize money paid by FIFA.
The buildup to this tournament also saw Canada's national team, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion, threaten to strike in a row over pay, funding and contractual issues.
Meanwhile, France players rebelled over conditions in their national team setup, and a change of coach followed.
That meant some of France's top names would be at the tournament after all, having threatened to pull out, but the World Cup will still be marred by the absence of numerous leading players because of serious knee injuries.
England captain Leah Williamson and star striker Beth Mead have been ruled out, as have prolific Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema, French forwards Delphine Cascarino and Marie-Antoinette Katoto, and American duo Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson.
Spain's Alexia Putellas, the reigning Ballon d'Or winner, will be there, fit again after spending nine months out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
England leads charge
Together with Australia, European sides will be the chief threat to a U.S. team bidding to become the first to win three Women's World Cups in a row.
European champion England will lead the charge, together with Spain, Germany, Sweden and 2019 runner-up the Netherlands.
U.S. star Megan Rapinoe will be appearing in her final Women’s World Cup before retiring at the end of this season. | AFP-JIJI
"The expectations are really high and yes, we have a dream," England coach Sarina Wiegman said.
England will play its first game against Haiti — one of a raft of World Cup debutants — in Brisbane on July 22, while the U.S. begins its trophy defense the same day against another debutant in Vietnam.
The tournament kicks off Thursday with New Zealand facing the Norway of 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg in Auckland, and Australia playing Ireland in front of a sellout crowd of more than 80,000 in Sydney.
"The expectations are really high and yes, we have a dream," England coach Sarina Wiegman said.
England will play its first game against Haiti — one of a raft of World Cup debutants — in Brisbane on July 22, while the U.S. begins its trophy defense the same day against another debutant in Vietnam.
The tournament kicks off Thursday with New Zealand facing the Norway of 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg in Auckland, and Australia playing Ireland in front of a sellout crowd of more than 80,000 in Sydney.
The Australian women's team say they are 'taking the positives' from the situation after they slammed FIFA over equal prize money for the Women's World Cup
Cameron Winstanley
18 JUL 2023
The Matildas have called out FIFA over equal World Cup prize money (Image: Getty Images)
Australia Women’s team are ‘taking the positives’ after they called out FIFA over equal pay for the Women’s World Cup prize money.
The Matildas previously released a video just four days before their opening World Cup fixture against the Republic of Ireland calling on FIFA and football bodies to continue to invest in the women’s game and ensure the tournament continues to leave behind a legacy.
Australia and New Zealand will co-host this summer’s World Cup which kicks off on Thursday with New Zealand playing Norway and Australia taking on Ireland.
But the build-up to their home tournament from the Aussies has been dominated by calls for equal prize money between the men and women’s World Cups
READ MORE: Women's World Cup warm-up match abandoned after 20 mins for being 'overly physical'
The total prize money for this year’s Women’s World Cup is £84.1million, a 300% increase from the 2019 edition, but it still remains substantially lower than the £336.4million pot for the men’s tournament in Qatar.
While still far behind the men’s prize money, The Matildas have acknowledged the positive steps made over the past four years.
Alanna Kennedy claims The Matildas are 'taking the positives' from equal prize money row
The Matildas have called out FIFA over equal World Cup prize money (Image: Getty Images)Australia Women’s team are ‘taking the positives’ after they called out FIFA over equal pay for the Women’s World Cup prize money.
The Matildas previously released a video just four days before their opening World Cup fixture against the Republic of Ireland calling on FIFA and football bodies to continue to invest in the women’s game and ensure the tournament continues to leave behind a legacy.
Australia and New Zealand will co-host this summer’s World Cup which kicks off on Thursday with New Zealand playing Norway and Australia taking on Ireland.
But the build-up to their home tournament from the Aussies has been dominated by calls for equal prize money between the men and women’s World Cups
READ MORE: Women's World Cup warm-up match abandoned after 20 mins for being 'overly physical'
The total prize money for this year’s Women’s World Cup is £84.1million, a 300% increase from the 2019 edition, but it still remains substantially lower than the £336.4million pot for the men’s tournament in Qatar.
While still far behind the men’s prize money, The Matildas have acknowledged the positive steps made over the past four years.
Alanna Kennedy claims The Matildas are 'taking the positives' from equal prize money row
(Image: Sky Sports News)
During their press conference ahead of the Ireland clash, Manchester City’s Alanna Kennedy said: “I mean the argument is fair in some cases, but I think for us it’s just trying to shed a light on the positive side and how we can continue to elevate our voice and the talent that we have and have people support it.
“You’ll always get the ‘No one’s watching women’s football,’ those things are just water off a duck’s back
During their press conference ahead of the Ireland clash, Manchester City’s Alanna Kennedy said: “I mean the argument is fair in some cases, but I think for us it’s just trying to shed a light on the positive side and how we can continue to elevate our voice and the talent that we have and have people support it.
“You’ll always get the ‘No one’s watching women’s football,’ those things are just water off a duck’s back
Chelsea's Sam Kerr will star for Australia at the World Cup
(Image: Future Publishing via Getty Imag)
“For us, it’s not true, we’ve sold out our game and there’s so many people coming to watch. You always have to take the positives out of it rather than look at it from a negative lens.”
FIFA have previously pledged to equalise World Cup prize money for both tournaments by the next Women’s World Cup in 2027.
The 2023 tournament is also the first time that women’s national teams have been given dedicated training bases, with FIFA mandating that all players will receive a minimum amount of money, resources and conditions throughout the tournament.
“For us, it’s not true, we’ve sold out our game and there’s so many people coming to watch. You always have to take the positives out of it rather than look at it from a negative lens.”
FIFA have previously pledged to equalise World Cup prize money for both tournaments by the next Women’s World Cup in 2027.
The 2023 tournament is also the first time that women’s national teams have been given dedicated training bases, with FIFA mandating that all players will receive a minimum amount of money, resources and conditions throughout the tournament.
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