Sydney, Australia —
FIFA president Gianni Infantino this weekend said hosting the Women’s World Cup had generated US$570 million in revenue and had helped FIFA break even.
FIFA had previously increased the prizes for this tournament up to ten times compared to a similar competition in 2015.
Infantino called the competition the “best,” “greatest” and “biggest” Women’s World Cup.
Previously, many parties said, “The cost of holding it is too big. We’re not going to get enough revenue, we have to subsidize. And at that time we said, well, if there is a need for subsidies, we will provide subsidies,” Infantino said, adding, “But in the end, the Women’s World Cup earned US$570 million in revenue, so it has reached a break-even point.”
In a blunt announcement, Infantino added that the competition’s success supported FIFA’s previous decision to increase prize money, and chose Australia and New Zealand as the venue for the Women’s World Cup.
That revenue value also justifies the decision to expand the competition from 24 teams to 32 teams.
“We don’t lose any money, and we make the second highest income of any sport; apart from the men’s World Cup of course. We’ve got over half a billion dollars. There’s not a lot of competition, even in men’s football, which makes more than half a billion,” he added.
The US$152 million prize awarded to women’s footballers in this competition is still less than the US$440 million for men’s footballers at the World Cup in Qatar last year. (em/hr)
