FIFA president Gianni Infantino has warned that Britain faces a television blackout for this summer’s Women’s World Cup after describing the offers for the broadcast rights as a ‘slap in the face’. The 2023 Women’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, starts on July 20, while England and the Republic of Ireland have both qualified for the tournament. Infantino claims offers from broadcasters of the ‘big five’ nations – Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and France – are unacceptable, as proposals of $1m-$10m (£800,000-£8m) for the rights to show the Women’s World Cup pale in comparison to the $100m-$200m (£80m-£160m) spent on the men’s World Cup. He is adamant that FIFA will not ‘undersell’ the tournament to broadcasters and says the competition will not be shown in nations that continue to propose ‘unfair’ offers for rights.
“The offers from broadcasters, mainly in the ‘big five’ European countries, are still very disappointing,” Infantino said at a World Trade Organization meeting in Geneva on Tuesday. “This is a slap in the face of all the great FIFA Women’s World Cup players and indeed of all women worldwide. 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.”
Infantino also hit back at suggestions that the offers were low due to the time-zone difference, which means games would be played outside prime-time viewing hours. “Maybe, it’s not played on prime-time in Europe, but still it is played at 9am or 10am, so it is quite a reasonable time,” he said. With England and the Republic of Ireland both having qualified for the tournament, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has warned that Britain faces a television blackout for this summer’s Women’s World Cup if broadcasters continue to make ‘unfair’ offers for rights. Infantino claims offers from broadcasters of the ‘big five’ nations – Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and France – are unacceptable, as proposals of $1m-$10m (£800,000-£8m) for the rights to show the Women’s World Cup pale in comparison to the $100m-$200m (£80m-£160m) spent on the men’s World Cup. He is adamant that FIFA will not ‘undersell’ the tournament to broadcasters and says the competition will not be shown in nations that continue to propose ‘unfair’ offers for rights.