FIFA predicted the football Women’s World Cup taking place in Australia and New Zealand to be a “watershed” moment for the game. They expect it to be iconic and propel football to a whole new level.
FIFA predicts big things for the Women’s World Cup
According to FIFA, the upcoming Women’s World Cup games are going to be an iconic turn of events. They expect the games to propel women’s football to a level, eventually rivaling the menu version. With just 100 days to kick off, Sarai Bareman revealed over two billion views were expected to tune in. Bareman is FIFA’s chief women’s football officer. Additionally, record attendance is expected with over 650,000 tickets sold so far. The next phase of ticket sales opens on Tuesday. According to Bareman, the event is going to be a major turning point and act as a driver for social change. She stated this will create role models and help promote gender equality.
“People will be saying, ‘That was the watershed moment that changed everything and took the game to the next level. And that’s in every aspect — commercially, participation, popularity, and growth,” stated Bareman. Bareman, a New Zealand-born Samoan stated the ultimate goal of the Women’s World Cup is to grow it to rival the men’s. This will also help females gain equal footing in terms of pay in the sporting world. “I think people will look back and choose the women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand as that watershed moment where the growth, which is already exponential, just took off to the absolute next level,” she added.
More on the upcoming games
According to Bareman, the event is going to be a major turning point. Additionally, it will act as a driver for social change. She stated this will also create role models and help promote gender equality. “We want to get to that level. The first World Cup for men was in 1930. It wasn’t until 61 years later that the first women’s World Cup was introduced. We’re still in our infancy as a product. But we have to look at what’s happening in the men’s game as an inspiration and a target. For me, it’s got to be in the billions and we have to keep pushing until we get to that level,” she explained.
The woman’s world cup will take place in four New Zealand and five Australian cities. For the first time. it expanded from 24 to 32 teams. However, despite Bareman’s positive outlook reports reveal some broadcasters made low offers for screening the event. Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, slammed the move calling it “not acceptable.” “We do have to hold the line and make sure that for the good of the next generations of female footballers. They are given the opportunities afforded their male counterparts. We can only do that by ensuring its commercial value is recognized,” stated Bareman.
