European sports ministers demand a quick solution to the broadcasting rights of the Women’s World Cup

May 31 (Reuters) – Sports ministers from Europe’s top soccer nations urged global governing body FIFA and broadcasters on Wednesday to work together and “find a common path” over broadcasting rights for this year’s Women’s World Cup.

The rights will be sold separately from the men’s World Cup for the first time, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino said earlier this month that Britain, Spain, France, Germany and Italy would face blackouts unless the “invalid” bids were improved.

In the joint opinion On Wednesday, the sports ministers of the five countries said they were aware of the restrictions on broadcasters, but stressed the importance of “improving the global visibility of women’s sport” in their own countries.

“Media coverage of women’s sports is indeed a very significant influence on the development of women’s and young girls’ sports practices,” the statement said.

“With the great potential of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the sporting and social issues at stake, we see it as our duty to mobilize all stakeholders to reach an agreement quickly.

“These decisions are for FIFA and the broadcasters to make independently, but we know that discussions are ongoing and we trust the ability of FIFA and the independent broadcasters to find a common path towards the fair development of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment.

According to FIFA’s audit of the tournament, around 1.12 billion viewers watched the 2019 World Cup in France across all platforms.

Infantino said broadcasters had offered just $1 million to $10 million for the rights to this year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand, compared to $100 million to $200 million for the men’s World Cup.

FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura has said she is confident that the TV blackout of the Women’s World Cup in Europe will bring broadcasters to the table with better offers.

The ninth Women’s World Cup starts in Sydney and Auckland on July 20.

Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India Editing by Christian Radnedge

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