Women’s World Cup: WDR director criticizes “trumpeting” Fifa president

2023-05-12 17:10:36

Sport TV rights for Women’s World Cup

WDR director criticizes “trumpeting” Fifa president Infantino

Stand: 12.05.2023 | Reading time: 2 minutes

The money that ARD and ZDF are offering for the broadcasting rights is obviously not enough for Gianni Infantino

Source: dpa/Jorge Saenz

Negotiations over the TV rights to the women’s soccer World Cup next summer appear to be deadlocked. It is quite possible that the German games will not be shown live. Now WDR director Tom Buhrow clearly criticizes Fifa President Gianni Infantino.

WDR Director General Tom Buhrow defended the line taken by the public broadcasters in the negotiations for the TV rights to the women’s soccer World Cup and clearly criticized Fifa President Gianni Infantino. “Unfortunately, one cannot really speak of negotiations in the actual sense at the moment,” said Buhrow on ARD. “Mr Infantino is trumpeting in public and trying to put moral pressure on us. Not like that. You can sit down at a table and discuss the matter, not in public.”

At this point, it’s still unclear who will be televising the tournament from July 20 to August 20 in Australia and New Zealand. According to a “Kicker” report, the public TV stations offered five million euros for the broadcasting rights to the finals with 32 teams for the first time. But FIFA is asking twice as much. According to dpa information, the sums are slightly higher.

Infantino justifies the demand with a significantly better promotion of women’s football, so among other things the bonuses will increase. “The offers from the broadcasters, especially from the five major European countries, are still very disappointing and simply unacceptable,” Infantino said in early May. Buhrow said on Friday: “We made the highest bid, that’s not enough for Mr. Infantino.”

“We just have to leave the church in the village”

In a conversation passage published on Twitter by WDR, the director also said: “We are proud that we have given football, women’s football, a stage for decades, that we were able to help it grow, we want to continue to do that, but we just have to leave the church in the village.” Infantino “apparently doesn’t see that”.

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Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser pressed on Friday for an early solution. “I appeal once again very strongly to ensure a broadcast in the interests of the people who want to take part in this wonderful football festival,” said the SPD politician on Friday after the conference of sports ministers in Frankfurt am Main. “I would like to once again promote this to all those involved who are currently discussing and negotiating about it.”