What strides women’s football has made. And at what speed. As recently as 1991, Fifa didn’t even attach its name to the first women’s World Cup held in China - calling it the World Championship for Women’s Football for the M&M’s Cup. M&M’s Cup because chocolate-maker Mars was the sole sponsor. Women representing the 12 teams played 80-minute games instead of the usual 90 minutes that year, because the organizers said 90 minutes of football would be too much for them. Since the inaugural tournament, won by the USA, was successful, Fifa attached its name to the 1995 edition which was called the Fifa Women’s World Cup.
On July 20, the ninth edition of the tournament featuring 32 teams will kick off in Australia and New Zealand. There will be 64 matches in all with the first one being kicked off in Auckland on July 20 at 12:30pm (IST) while the final will be played in Sydney on August 20 at 3:30 pm. Megan Rapinoe, a two-time World Cup winner with the USA women’s national team and the 2019 edition’s player of the tournament, expects big things to happen after this. “It feels like a real opportunity to blow the lid off, just in terms of fanfare and media and sponsorships and the sort of larger business around this sport,” she said.
And, the fans are in no mood to miss out. Women’s football has a good following in Australia and the Matildas are hugely popular. By June, Fifa had already sold a million tickets for the tournament. The semi-final and final are already sold-out events and if you want a ticket at this late stage, only the expensive tickets are available for the big games. This year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup will follow the same pattern as last year’s men’s tournament in Qatar. The 32 teams are split into eight groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group proceed to the knockout stages. They will first play in the round of sixteen and the winners of each game will proceed to the quarter finals. This will be followed by the semis, third-fourth place play-off and the final in Sydney on August 20.
Prize money
Even though the spending is nowhere close to what the governing body lays out for the men’s tournament, it has budgeted $435 million for the event. As for the prize money, it's $150 million (up from $30 million in 2019). Instead of paying the federations for participating in the tournament, this year Fifa will be paying the World Cup players directly. Every player competing in the group stage will receive $30,000 and that amount will rise through the tournament with each player in the World Cup winning team receiving $270,000.
Did you know
- The Jamaican women’s team have set up two crowdfunding pages to raise the $175,000 they need to pay for hotel and food for the tournament.
- Teams, including Nigeria, South Africa and Canada are facing money issues with their federations. The Nigerian team has had payment issues with many players not being paid wages, the team’s coach has also called it out and the players have threatened a boycott.
- The Spanish and French teams have had players rebel against their coaches ahead of the tournament. Many Spanish players had refused to play under the current coach, but they relented and have been included in the squad.
- The Rainbow armband continues to be an issue. During the men’s tournament, Fifa waited till the last minute to address it but for this tournament, it has outright banned the rainbow armband but given teams the option to choose from eight very different armbands designed specifically for this tournament.
- England players are caught in an argument with the FA over player bonuses. The FA is of the view that Fifa paying the players directly is exactly what FA would have passed to the players. The players feel they are due a bonus from the FA for representing the nation like Team USA players who will get a bonus from their association over and above the Fifa cheque.
Teams to watch out for
USA: The reigning world champions are looking to win their third World Cup on the trot and their fifth overall. That would be the perfect Hollywood ending that stars like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan deserve for their glittering careers and their sustained fight with the US football federation for equal pay that they won. They have one of the strongest domestic leagues in the world and that ensures a great supply of talent. They remain the team to beat.
Canada: The Olympic gold medallists are handy opponents despite not having their own domestic women’s league. However, the Canadians play across Europe and the US leagues and have plenty of experience and have managed to beat the star-studded Team USA too.
England: The reigning European Champions managed to do what the men’s team hasn’t done since winning the World Cup in 1966 — winning a major international tournament. Though the English FA had banned women’s football for 50 years, the women’s game in England has made tremendous progress since the pandemic and is among the best and most lucrative in the world currently. English stars like Lucy Bronze, Kiera Walsh, Georgia Stanway have already been poached by foreign leagues and despite that English teams have consistently made it to the knockout stages of Champions League for the last two years. Despite missing their Euro winning captain Leah Williamson and star performer Beth Mead due to ACL tears, England has plenty of heart in the midfield and fire power up ahead to give any team a heart attack.
The Netherlands: They are slow starters but they are resilient. They made it to the quarter-finals without their star striker Vivianne Miedema in the Euro 2022 and were the losing finalists against the USA in the 2019 World Cup. With experienced and talented players Jill Roord, Jackie Groenen and Lieke Martens marshalling the business end of the field, you can never write them off despite losing Miedema to an ACL injury.
Spain: This year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League final between Barcelona and Wolfsburg had much more quality, heart and football compared to the dull display in the men’s final featuring Manchester City and Inter Milan. Like with the men’s Spanish team, a good number of Barcelona players make up the playing 11 of the Spanish women’s team, including defender Mapi Leon, goalie Alexandra Panos and the reigning two-time best woman footballer in the world Alexia Putellas. Add to that the marauding wing back Ona Battle, who was one of the reasons for Manchester United’s success in the Women’s Super League this year and we have a team ranked sixth in the world but ready to go to the very top.
Germany: While their men’s team is going through a rough patch under a new manager, it will be a folly to write off the Euro 2022 runners-up who have one of the best domestic leagues in the world. Alexandra Popp is prone to injuries but she is also one of the most dangerous forwards in the women’s game today and doesn’t need a second invitation to score as most teams found out in Euro 2022. They also have one of the best goalkeepers in the business in Merle Frohms. They have the right mix of youth and experience, pace and skills and are likely to cause a few upsets in the knockout stages.
Past winners: The USA has won the World Cup four times, Germany twice, and Japan and Norway have won the trophy once each.
First Game: New Zealand vs Norway, July 20, Auckland. Kick off at 12:30pm India Time.
First Semi-final: August 15, Auckland. Kick off at 1:30 pm India Time.
Second Semi-final: August 16, Sydney. Kick off at 3:30 pm India Time.
Final: August 20, Sydney. Kick off at 3:30 pm India Time.
Where to watch in India
A press release announced that Fifa had sold the tournament’s broadcast rights for the Indian subcontinent to 1Stadia, a US-based organization. FanCode, in turn, has acquired the rights from 1Stadia and will livestream all the matches on its digital platform. FanCode has previously livestreamed international cricket matches featuring India. However, no channel has as yet confirmed that they would be airing the tournament. Nor does the Fifa website have any information regarding what channel the tournament will be broadcast on in India. There is no website for 1Stadia as of July 12 - a UK-based business information provider Endole has a page for 1Stadia, where it says the company was incorporated on June 28, 2023, and names Sangeet Shirodkar as one of its three directors. Shirdokar's LinkedIn page says he is the co-founder and CEO of 27th Sports, “a 100 million USD sports fund to invest into sports media, IP's and infrastructure projects worldwide.”
6 Stars to follow
Megan Rapinoe, Forward, USA
Hard to miss thanks to her trademark short crop that she sports in various colours. She is a star unafraid to speak her mind on everything including politics, LGBTQ rights, racism and equality, and on the field her goals do the talking.
Trinity Rodman, Forward, USA
Tennis star Dennis Rodman’s daughter has chosen a different ball game from her dad. She is young and sought-after by leading teams in the US for her raw talent and pace. She has been firing on all cylinders in the friendlies leading up to the tournament.
Marta, Forward, Brazil
She is a legend in women’s football and will be appearing in her sixth and final World Cup. She might not play every minute, but when she does get on the field, her footwork mesmerizes you as much as it perplexes opponents.
Alexia Putellas, Midfield, Spain
The Fifa Ballon d’Or winner two years in a row is back from a long ACL injury lay off and played in the Champions League final as Barcelona won. Her return is timely and there’s no doubt about her skills. How her form is now, the world will soon find out.
Samantha Kerr, Forward, Australia
The Aussie goal machine is not a typical striker. She is not flashy and goes about her business rather quietly, but is she effective? Chelsea are the WSL and Women’s FA Cup winners thanks to her marksmanship. Watch out for the backflip after she scores important goals.
Mary Earps, Goalkeeper, England
Earps is quite the joker, remembered for dancing on the table while the England coach was giving a press conference after winning the Euros last year. But on field she is a different person altogether, pulling off some stunning saves, confident with the ball at her feet and very capable of setting off an attack with her passing.
Top Group Stage Games
USA vs Netherlands: July 27, 6:30 am.
A repeat of the 2019 final as both teams are grouped together.
England vs Denmark: July 28, 2 pm.
Danish forward Pernille Harder fired on all cylinders to help Chelsea win the WSL title. Now, see her take on her club teammates as Denmark play the Lionesses, the reigning European champions.
France vs Brazil: July 29, 3:30 pm.
Two contrasting styles and two traditional heavyweights of the footballing world. Both are hungry for success at the world stage.
Japan vs Spain: July 31, 12:30 pm.
Former champion Japan takes on wannabe champion Spain. Spain scripts poetry with the ball and Japan are so hard-working that they never stop running, with or without the ball.
Canada vs Australia: July 31, 3:30 pm.
The Olympic champions Canada go up against the hosts. The crowd will be firmly behind the Matildas and will be the additional player for the home team. Expect the atmosphere to be electric. It’s going to be a battle of Canada's legendary forward Christine Sinclair against the Aussie sharpshooter Sam Kerr.
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