The Women's World Cup has “captured the attention of hundreds of millions of fans across the globe, but beneath the surface" women’s soccer "still suffers from a titanic gender pay gap, funding shortages, disputes over the treatment of players and a sharp drop in public interest beyond the top-level blockbuster matches,” according to Orihuela, Nimmo, & Garcia Perez of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Yesterday's final between Spain and England “only serves to underline the problem.” Countries competing in the World Cup can “agree to additional bonuses but neither the English nor Spanish football associations have yet done so.” All footballers in the women’s tournament have been “guaranteed a $30,000 payment per game, with winners getting $270,000 in total.” The world’s leading male players, meanwhile, are reported to earn over $1M "for a single Instagram post promoting a certain brand or sponsor.” TV audiences have been “considerable” for the current tournament in Australia. Attendances are also “rising from a low base.” While some games “attract tens of thousands of fans,” the average attendance in England’s Women’s Super League is “still around 6,000, compared with close to 40,000 for the men’s Premier League” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 8/19).
SPARK NEEDED? REUTERS’ Cawthorne, Holton & Laing notes in broadcast rights, the women's game has "struggled to compete.” According to FIFA, broadcasters from Britain, Spain, France, Germany and Italy offered only $1M to $10M "for the right to show World Cup games.” That is compared with the $100M to $200M “paid for the men's tournament.” Cawthorne, Holton & Laing writes the question now is whether the vast audiences that tuned in to the Women's World Cup “can lead to larger broadcast rights and sponsorship deals for national sides and the domestic clubs that are needed to sustain interest outside of major tournaments” (REUTERS, 8/21).
