2023-05-02 11:43:48
Published on :
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has warned European broadcasters after “disappointing” offers to buy the rights to broadcast the Women’s World Cup, scheduled for July 20 to August 20. The world football boss says he prefers the competition to be broadcast rather than sold off.
“A slap in the face” of the players and “all women”: the president did not mince his words on Monday 1is May to talk about European offers to broadcast the Women’s World Cup, scheduled for July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
“To be very clear, we have a moral and legal obligation not to sell the FIFA Women’s World Cup at below-market prices,” Gianni Infantino told a panel discussion. the World Trade Organization in Geneva. “Therefore, if the offers continue to be unfair, we will be forced to not broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the ‘Big Five’.”
The “Big Five” refers to the five major European leagues: the Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
According to the FIFA boss, the broadcasters would have offered only between 910,000 and 9 million euros.de dollars for the rights, against 90 and 181 million euros for the men.
“Fifa has increased the amount of the endowment to 152 million dollars (about 139 million euros), triple the amount paid in 2019 and ten times more than in 2015 (before I became president)” , recalled Gianni Infantino.
Hours hard to sell
In Europe, this lack of interest is above all due to the geographical area of the competition, organized for the first time in Oceania, and therefore to the time difference which cools the channels.
Also, the competition is later than usual and falls into a low period in terms of advertising revenue.
For example, the first round matches will be played by Les Bleues (July 23 against Jamaica, July 29 against Brazil, August 2 against Panama) at noon, French time. The semi-finals, final and third place match will take place at 10 a.m. and noon.
>> To read also: In France, “the future of women’s football depends on the quality of its broadcast”
For Infantino, that’s no excuse: “Maybe it won’t be prime time in Europe, but the matches will still be played at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. Hours quite reasonable,” he said.
The stakes are all the more important for Fifa as the revenues generated by the media rights of the World Cup are reinvested in the development of women’s football. “We need you”, launched the new coach of Les Bleues Hervé Renard several times to the media, during his first meeting in April, recalling in passing that the development of women’s football is a fight on all fronts. .
French championship also without broadcaster
In France, the situation is also chaotic concerning the broadcasting of the D1 Arkema championship as well as the matches of the selection. The latter are still without broadcasters from next season. A decision will be made after May 4, the date of the end of applications, according to the French Federation.
It is also around this date that the fate of the Mondial-2023 could be decided, according to Jean-Michel Aulas, member of the executive committee of the FFF, questioned in mid-April on the subject. According to several sources, the current D1 broadcaster, Canal+, could position itself and invest in broadcasting the World Cup and the championship.
During the last World Cup, in 2019 in France, the rights were acquired for an unknown amount by TF1, which then sold the rights for paid broadcasting to Canal+.
>> See also: Report alongside the French women’s team Hervé Renard version
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