Fifa threatens TV blackout for Women’s World Cup in Europe

FIFA, world football’s governing body, is threatening not to televise the Women’s World Cup in five major European countries unless broadcasters pay more for the media rights.

The offers from broadcasters in the “Big 5” European nations – Italy, Germany, France, the UK and Spain – “are still very disappointing and simply not acceptable,” President Gianni Infantino said in a statement on Fifa’s website. “Should the offers continue not to be fair, we will be forced not to broadcast the Fifa Women’s World Cup into the ‘Big 5’ European countries.”

Fifa’s threat provoked a response from Downing Street on Tuesday (May 2). “The prime minister, like everyone in the UK, would like to see such an important event televised, not least following the success of our Lionesses,” Max Blain, spokesperson for Rishi Sunak, told Bloomberg News. Last year, England’s women won Euro 2022.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup is being held in Australia and New Zealand from July and under sports broadcasting rules, it has to be shown on channels or stations where there is near universal access.

The row comes at a time of surging popularity for women’s football. In the UK, Arsenal attracted a record 60,000 attendance on Monday evening to its European Champions League match against Wolfsburg, and in France last month a record 1.4 million fans watched the national team beat Canada in a friendly match on television.

Infantino said Fifa still had to sell media rights for the tournament to some major markets because offers to date were undervalued. He said revenue will be entirely re-invested in women’s football, and public broadcasters in particular had a duty to promote and invest in women’s sports.

A large discrepancy remains between broadcast payments for the men’s and women’s games.

Infantino said viewing figures for the Fifa Women’s World Cup are 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the men’s event, yet broadcasters’ offers in the Big 5 European countries are 20 to 100 times lower.

“Whereas broadcasters pay US$100 million to US$200 million for the men’s Fifa World Cup, they offer only US$1 million to US$10 million for the Fifa Women’s World Cup,” he said. “This is a slap in the face of all the great Fifa Women’s World Cup players and indeed of all women worldwide.”

According to a document seen by Bloomberg, Fifa has signed 156 broadcast deals with territories across the world ahead of the tournament. In Europe, Fifa has signed deals with countries including Hungary, Sweden and Belgium, but not yet with the UK, France, Italy, Germany or Spain.

“From a broadcaster perspective, the growth in appetite for women’s sport is clear,” said Christina Philippou, a lecturer in accounting, economics and finance at the University of Portsmouth. “It feels like broadcasters are sluggish in reacting to the meteoric rise in interest.” BLOOMBERG