FIFA is investing $1 billion over a four-year period to promote women’s football around the world, according to its President Gianni Infantino.
Football fans from Qatar have emerged among a list of top ticket buyers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, the football governing body confirmed on Tuesday.
“Fans residing in the United States of America, England, Qatar, Germany, China PR, Canada, the Republic of Ireland and France are the top 10 purchasers of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 tickets so far,” said FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samoura.
Fans from more than 120 nations have purchased more than 500,000 tickets for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand this July and August.
The 20 August final at Stadium Australia in Sydney/Gadigal is said to be the most anticipated match of the tournament, pushing ticket sales past 500,000 last week.
The first-ever co-hosted women’s tournament’s opening game and ceremony will take place at Aotearoa New Zealand’s Eden Park in Auckland/Tmaki Makaurau on July 20, 2023. The final will take place at Sydney/Stadium Gadigal’s Australia on August 20 a month later.
Fans can get tickets from the official FIFA website for reasonable pricing, with adult tickets starting at $20 and kid tickets at $10.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 hospitality packages are also available for purchase.
The inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup Play-Off Tournament will be held in Aotearoa New Zealand from February 17–23 at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton/Kirikiriroa and North Harbour Stadium in Auckland/Tmaki Makaurau.
Ten countries—Portugal, Cameroon, Thailand, Chile, Haiti, Senegal, Chinese Taipei, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Panama—will compete in the Play-Off Tournament for the final three spots in the main tournament, in addition to three friendlies featuring the Football Ferns of New Zealand.
Broadcast bids
The impressive numbers demonstrate the ever-growing appeal of women’s football and the fervour it inspires among football fans around the world who want to take part in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
However, the women’s edition of the tournament has yet to be given as much as attention as the FIFA men’s World Cup.
In October, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said bids submitted for the broadcast rights to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup were “unacceptable”.
In an effort to commercialise the women’s competition, broadcasters must now purchase separate rights for the men’s and women’s World Cups. Previously, when broadcasters purchased the rights to the men’s World Cup, the Women’s World Cup was offered as an add-on.
Speaking after the FIFA council meeting in Auckland, Infantino criticised the inadequate bids, noting that they were at least one hundred times less expensive than the men’s World Cup.
“When these same broadcasters, often public but also private, offer us 100 times less for the Women’s World Cup than what they offer for the men’s World Cup, even more than 100 times in some occasions, then this is not acceptable,” said the FIFA president, reported The Athletic.
“We are not going to accept this because we know the viewing figures for these broadcasters in some big footballing countries for the men’s World Cup or for the women’s World Cup are actually very similar,” he added.
The last Women’s World Cup of culminated viewing figures of 1.2 billion people.
“Taking only the final, 263 million, which is more than twice the Super Bowl. And having these broadcasters, who push us to do more for equality, at the same time, however, offering us a hundred times less for the men (compared) to the women going by the viewing figures, meaning their commercial income is very similar for men and for women.”
