The Women’s World Cup (WWC) is underway, fueling the dreams of fans and marketers astir the world. 

FIFA is projecting a full assemblage of much than 2 cardinal radical (an summation of astatine slightest 800,000 from the 2019 tournament) and is pricing ads and sponsorships accordingly. The soccer organization expects to gain $807 cardinal this twelvemonth from summons sales, tv broadcasting, marketing, hospitality and licensing rights.

If FIFA does deed its income and assemblage goals, it volition beryllium contempt galore of its ain actions.

Most notably, it awarded the tourney to Australia and New Zealand, which are 9+ hours up of Europe — the world’s biggest shot audience. The past clip FIFA did thing similar this was successful 2002 erstwhile the men’s tourney was held successful Japan and South Korea. Audiences that twelvemonth were 30% smaller than for 2006 erstwhile it was held successful Germany. 

In the U.S., a hotbed of women’s shot whose nationalist squad has won the tourney a grounds 4 times, the clip portion quality is 15 to 19 hours.

Competition for viewers

Another European assemblage problem: This year’s WWC is starting a period aboriginal than accustomed and runs done Aug. 20. This means it’s overlapping with the commencement of the English Premier League which is the world’s premier shot league. 

All this explains wherefore FIFA, which expected to get $300 cardinal for the tournament’s broadcast rights, “will settee for person to $200 million,” according to The Wall Street Journal. New broadcast rights are acceptable to bring successful “about a 3rd of the $150 cardinal it had expected.” Also, the enactment was hoping its woody with European Broadcasting Union would bring successful $65 million, but it coiled up being “about fractional that,” per the WSJ.

However, having the WWC successful New Zealand and Australia means it’s lone 1 to 3 hours up of Japan. The nation’s ample colonisation (like beauteous overmuch everyone extracurricular the U.S.) is wealthy, soccer-mad and won the 2011 WWC. Perfect fit, right? 

The broadcast rights for Japan were lone sold a week ago. This means some FIFA and NHK, the Japanese authorities broadcaster, missed retired connected the precise lucrative pre-tournament advertising. 

Lego WWC 2023 advertisement featuring Megan Rapinoe, Yuki Nagasato, Asisat Oshoala and Sam Kerr.

The bully news

All that said, FIFA has signed up 30 antithetic marque sponsors for this WWC. In 2019 they lone had 12. Also, women’s shot fans are incredibly devoted to the athletics and its players — sometimes adjacent shunning the men’s game. 

In the U.K., women’s shot successful wide and the Women’s Super League (WSL) are incredibly popular. According to the Women’s Sports Trust: 

• 8.4 cardinal radical who watched unrecorded WSL shot successful 2022 did not ticker immoderate unrecorded Premier League shot that year. That’s up 3.3 cardinal from 2021. 
• 1.8 cardinal watched the Women’s Euros but didn’t ticker the men’s FIFA World Cup

In the U.S., the National Women’s Soccer League drew much than a cardinal in-person fans past year. That’s up astir 400,000 from 2021 and much than immoderate different apical women’s shot league. In 2019, 14.3 cardinal viewers tuned into the FIFA Women’s World Cup last match. They created 17 cardinal much TV impressions and 20% much viewers than the 2018 men’s World Cup. 

This year’s WWC is the archetypal to diagnostic 32 teams, 8 much than successful 2019. A promising sign: As of past week, astir 1.4 cardinal tickets had already been sold for 64 matches successful the 2 nations, surpassing the grounds full for the tourney acceptable 8 years agone successful Canada.

FIFA vs. Women

For galore years, FIFA was condescending and dismissive erstwhile it came to handling women’s soccer. For example, successful 2013 FIFA’s then-president Sepp Blatter said, “We present person 3 ladies connected the board. Say something, ladies. You are ever speaking astatine home, accidental thing now.” Believe it oregon not, that’s 1 of the little objectionable things Sepp said during his 22 years moving FIFA. 

This began to alteration successful 2015 erstwhile Blatter and 13 different FIFA executives were indicted for corruption and caller enactment was enactment successful place. It inactive has a agelong mode to go, arsenic tin beryllium seen successful the prize wealth awarded for this year’s WWC:

Champion

• $4,290,000 for their association
• $270,000 per player/23 players per squad = $6,210,000

2nd place:

• $3,015,000 for their association 
• $195,000 per subordinate = $4,485,000

3rd place

• $2,610,000 for their association 
• $180,000 per subordinate = $4,140,000

4th place

• $2,455,000 for their association 
• $165,000 per subordinate = $3,795,000

Teams that don’t marque it past the archetypal round

• $1,560,000 for their association 
• $30,000 per subordinate = $690,000

Total prize wealth for 2023 WWC

• $110 cardinal (up $80 cardinal from 2019)

Average magnitude earned per dollar vs. 2022 Men’s World Cup

• $0.25 (up ~$0.17 from 2019).

While that’s a important inequality, what’s worse is not each the players adjacent get that much: 29% of players competing successful the Confederation Championships for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and successful the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship reported not receiving immoderate outgo from their nationalist team.

FIFA steps up?

In June, FIFA announced a woody that would warrant payments for each players astatine the tournament. “All participating players volition person guaranteed remuneration for their achievements astatine the tournament.” 

That’s a triumph for FIFA, right? 

It was until a week agone erstwhile FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the warrant is off: “Whatever payments we do, we volition spell done the associations, and past the associations will, of course, marque the applicable payments to their ain players.” The alleged reason: FIFA couldn’t grip the taxation and residency-related complications. 

Forbes’ Kelly Phillips Erb deed that with a reddish card, writing:  

“Many multinational companies grip planetary payroll issues connected a regular basis. It seems alternatively singular that a institution of FIFA’s size could administer payroll for its planetary employees crossed 60 countries each year—but not the 736 shot players astatine the tourney from conscionable 32 countries for a tourney that occurs erstwhile each 4 years.”

Can each the passionateness and involvement successful women’s shot outplay the WWC’s galore problems? Stay tuned.