The Spanish national team won the women’s world championship for the first time
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The Spanish women’s football team won the World Cup for the first time in its history. In the final of the championship, held on Sunday in Sydney, the Spaniards beat England with a minimum score. More than 75 thousand spectators gathered to watch the game – a clear indicator that the popularity of women’s football is growing. As the President of the International Football Federation (FIFA) Gianni Infantino noted, the Women’s World Cup, contrary to expectations, did not even turn out to be unprofitable, generating almost $600 million in revenue.
On Sunday, Sydney hosted the final of the IX Women’s World Cup. For both teams participating in it, Spain and England, it was a historic moment. In women’s football, it so happened that in all the finals of the world championships without exception (for the first time the championship was held in 1991), either the US team or the German team was present. With the exception of two cases when the title went to the national teams of Japan and Norway, it was the Americans with the Germans who reigned in women’s football. But at the 2023 tournament, which was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the Germans failed to qualify from the group, and the American team, which won the previous two championships, stumbled in the first round of the play-offs.
There was no obvious favorite in the final pair. But for many, the chances of the English team seemed to be somewhat more preferable. Firstly, she is the current winner of the European Championship, and on the way to the title, one of the victims of the England team was just the Spanish team. Secondly, the road to the World Cup final for the England team was much less bumpy than for the Spaniards (they began their performance in the tournament with a devastating – 0:4 – defeat from the Japanese team). Finally, Sarina Wigman’s team seemed to be a much more cohesive team than Jorge Vilda’s wards. A uniform rebellion broke out against him last year. Immediately, a dozen national team players publicly stated that the team needed changes, the coach was called to resign, reproaching authoritarian methods of management, the players refused to play for the national team. This usually doesn’t end well. Sooner or later, a crack in the team, no matter how you fix it, will manifest itself.
If a year ago Jorge Vilde – and he described what happened to him as a monstrously difficult period – had been told that he would soon raise the World Cup over his head, this specialist, who has been working with women’s teams all his life, would only smile bitterly.
But it was the Spanish team that won the World Cup. Yes, the final was not easy. For example, if Lauren Hemp had hit a few centimeters to the left at the beginning of the first half and the ball would not have hit the Spanish goal post, but flew into them, the game could have gone according to a different scenario. But the Spaniards coped with the first onslaught of their rivals, and then they caught them by mistake. Stupid, unmotivated, found in men’s football only at an amateur level, the loss of the ball by the English in the center of the field led to a quick attack by the Spanish national team, which was completed by Olga Carmona with an accurate blow. The England team tried to get together, play faster, but the Spanish team worked very well with a safety net, forcing the rivals to simplify their game to the maximum, reducing it to passes along the flanks and sheds. They did not always turn out to be harmless, but they did not give a result. But the Spanish national team, even before the final whistle, could well have removed all questions – an 11-meter penalty was assigned to the gates of the Englishwomen for handball. But here the English goalkeeper Mary Earps showed miracles of dexterity. She pulled the ball out of the corner after being hit by Jennifer Hermosa, repeatedly and loudly, so that they heard, it seems, even in England, shouted “F ** off!” (the expression of the goalkeeper has become one of the most discussed topics in the British media) and seems to have started his team. The English really tried to save the game, but the Spanish team resisted and for the first time in history became the world champion.
More than 75,000 spectators watched the triumph of the Spaniards at the Sydney stadium alone. An excellent indicator even for men’s top-level matches.
However, at this championship the milestone of 75 thousand fans has already been overcome – in the group stage match Australia-Ireland. In total, according to FIFA, almost 1.8 million tickets were sold to the tournament meetings. 2.5 million tickets were sold for the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar. Quite comparable figures.
In general, in the statements made by FIFA during the tournament, one can find many signs that the federation has stumbled upon another very promising factor in financial growth. Yes, the women’s world championship has not become profitable. The tournament, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, generated $570 million in revenue, an unimpressive amount compared to the more than $7.5 billion that brought the World Cup in Qatar (the forecast for the 2026 World Cup is $10.5 billion), but it allowed the championship to break even. However, just a month ago, when FIFA was running a deficit of about $100 million, as partners were unwilling to pay the requested amounts for advertising and broadcasting rights, it seemed that FIFA would have to compensate the local organizers from their reserves. But, apparently, the broadcast ratings – and, for example, the China-England match was watched by almost 54 million people in China alone – gave FIFA trump cards in the negotiations. So, apparently, women’s football finds its audience.
However, it is not quite identical to the audience of men’s football.
FIFA research shows that women’s matches are actively watched by housewives and their daughters, who were previously very difficult to reach. It turns out a huge market, in the billions of people.
Mastering it all is unrealistic, and it is obvious that the growth in the financial performance of women’s football is also due to the effect of a low base, but the prospects for the game are good. It got to the point that Gianni Infantino did not rule out that in four years (where the next World Cup will be held has not yet been decided) the prize money for the participants will be on par with what men are paid. The latter shared $440 million in Qatar. Participants in the women’s championship will receive four times less, but until recently such payments in women’s football seemed unthinkable. Let’s say the prize money of the previous championship, 2019, was only $30 million.
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