Women’s World Cup will not be broadcast if bids are too low

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has threatened not to broadcast the upcoming Women’s World Cup in some countries if higher bids are not made for TV rights. “The bids from broadcasters, especially in the five major European countries, are still very disappointing and simply unacceptable,” Infantino wrote on Instagram.

“It is our moral and legal obligation not to let the underbidding at the Women’s World Cup happen. If the bids remain unfair (towards women and women’s soccer), we are therefore forced not to broadcast the World Cup in the ‘Big 5’ European countries,” the Swiss said. That Big Five consists of England, Germany, Spain, France and Italy.

The Women’s World Cup is scheduled next summer from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand. The Dutch will play against the United States, Vietnam and Portugal during the global final. In the Netherlands, the tournament will be covered by NOS.

According to Infantino, who believes that public broadcasters in particular have a duty to promote women’s sports, viewing figures for the women’s World Cup are 50 to 60 percent of the men’s World Cup. “But the bids of the big European countries are 20 to 100 times lower.”

“Specifically, where broadcasters are paying $100 million to $200 million (€91.2 million to €182.4 million) for the men’s World Cup, they are bidding only $1 million to $10 million (€0.9 million to €9.1 million) for the women’s World Cup. This is a slap in the face to all the fantastic players at the Women’s World Cup and in fact to all women worldwide,” Infantino said.