FIFA president Gianni Infantino has threatened to block broadcasts of this summer's Women's World Cup in five of Europe's biggest broadcast markets unless offers improve in the coming months.
Infantino described offers from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain as a "slap in the face of all women worldwide" having previously claimed that what he labelled the "big five" were offering between $1 million and $10 million for the rights to broadcast the tournament, which takes place in Australia and New Zealand. He added that broadcasters pay between $100 million and $200 million for the rights to the men's World Cup.
Speaking at a World Trade Organization event in Geneva, Infantino said: "To be very clear, it is our moral and legal obligation not to undersell the Fifa Women's World Cup. Therefore, should the offers continue not to be fair, we will be forced not to broadcast the Fifa Women's World Cup into the 'big five' European countries."
The World Cup kicks off on July 20 Eden Park, Auckland and all five of the nations Infantino singled out will be represented. The tournament's scheduling means that most matches will kick off in the morning or early afternoon in Europe. In his speech, the FIFA president aimed what could be viewed as a specific broadcast at the UK's BBC, Germany's ZDF and Italy's RAI, all of whom are publicly funded broadcasters who aired the 2019 tournament.
Infantino said: "Broadcasters, especially public broadcasters funded by taxpayers' money, should put their action behind their words because they rightfully criticise football organisations or other sports organisations for not paying women and men equally or not having the same prize money. We need to generate these revenues. They should help us or we will simply not sell these rights at these undervalued prices to them."
In a lengthy post on Instagram, Infantino noted that prize money had trebled in four years to $152 million. FIFA handed out $440 million for the most recent men's World Cup in Qatar.
To what extent Infantino's threat will turn into a reality remains to be seen. In the UK, for instance, the BBC and ITV have long been expected to ultimately finalise terms with FIFA over the broadcast rights. The Women's World Cup is one of what the British government's sporting 'crown jewels', 12 events which must be made available on free to air television. If FIFA does not secure deals that are to its liking, it would also have the option of showing matches on its streaming platform. In Brazil, matches at the Qatar World Cup were made available to viewers on FIFA+ .
In the USA, Women's World Cup matches will be broadcast on Fox platforms and Telemundo. All USWNT group games and the quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place match and final will be televised on Fox.
