FIFA Under Fire: Alleged Mishandling of Women’s World Cup

Former board member of the International Football Association, former Australian football player Moya Dodd has criticized FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s threats to stop broadcasting the upcoming Women’s World Cup matches in Europe.

Dodd said the broadcast industry underestimated the women’s tournament because FIFA was selling the rights along with the men’s version.

“Now that FIFA has decided to sell the rights individually, it’s no surprise that buyers don’t want to pay the same large amounts twice,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald.

And she continued: “Before, companies paid huge sums of money for the men’s world championship and treated the women’s version as a worthless tournament. At the same time, women were told they couldn’t get prize money or equal pay because they weren’t generating income.”

And she continued her attacks on the FIFA president, stating: “This is very shameful… FIFA’s statement that all proceeds from the Women’s World Cup will go directly to women’s football ignores the fact that the value of women’s rights The Cup has so far been used to inflate the value of men’s football.

Dodd said that instead of threatening broadcasters, FIFA should review all of its pool deals and give women’s football its fair share.

She added: “If the Women’s World Cup attracts 50 to 60 percent of the male audience, as FIFA says, it should turn into billions.”

Last Tuesday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino threatened to shut down the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in major European nations unless TV channels improved their offers for broadcasting rights.

Infantino criticized the channels for offering $1 million to $10 million to secure the rights to broadcast the Women’s World Cup, compared to $100 million to $200 million for the men’s version.

It is likely that the five countries Infantino spoke of are the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, all of which are represented at the global event.

FIFA did not comment on Dodd’s remarks, but Infantino previously stated that “100% of any money that will come from broadcast rights will go directly to women’s football as part of the steps to achieve equal conditions and wages for men and women in the game.”

In March last year, FIFA announced that a total bid of $152 million would be put forward for this year’s tournament, three times the 2019 France and more than ten times the 2015 Canada.

The Women’s World Cup will take place from 20 July to 20 August in Australia and New Zealand with 32 teams, with Morocco being the only participating Arab team.

Source: “Wakalat”