WWC 2023 general discussion

I disagree. An international sports federation is supposed to promote the sport around the world.

 

Am I misreading the schedule of do both teams from each group go into the same side of the bracket for the knockout rounds? It looks to me like one side of the bracket is teams from groups A, C, E & G and the other side is B, D, F & H. I know FIFA are stupid but they couldn't be that stupid could they?

 

It's true, and it's a bit atypical but it's not stupid. If you take a closer look, the two halves are entirely geographically separated - we have a NZL-based half of the tournament (except for one or two Sydney-based QFs) and an AUS-based half. Considering how big geographically the tournament is, it's reasonable for both fans and players to have reduced travel that way.

 

History has shown that as long as UEFA makes bank in WCs, then UEFA members can safely say *world football is fine as it is*.

FIFA backed Apartheid South Africa, under president Stanley Rous from England. It took a 1966 men's WC boycott by African nations to unite confederations against UEFA. Somehow, FIFA's old boys' circle thought it was justified how men's WCs were run: both Africa and Asia had a 0.5 WC slot each. So cool.

Rous was out by 1974, and the first (and only) non-European president was elected to lead FIFA: Joao Havelange from Brazil. Havelange won by campaigning on FIFA-led growth, focusing on men's sport in developing nations. It is no surprise that the first men's u20 WC was held in 1977.

Fast-forward 46 years later, men's u20 WC remains a subsidized event due to insufficient sponsorship: no big money prizes, no expensive stadium tickets. Without the presence of football stars from around the world, it makes sense that *u20 small revenue = u20 small prizes*. Nonetheless, it is important be a competitor, at least for most developing nations.

Perhaps FIFA needs another leadership jolt, so that it has real focus on growing the women's sport in developing nations.

 

Indeed, FIFA corruption under Havelange was notorious. But we both know who definitely sold Africa down the river: Stanley Rous.

Rous and our very own Jimmy McGuire traveled to South Africa, on a 1963 FIFA commission to reinstate it in WC qualifiers. Rous returned saying:
"The South African organizations of football must help each other to overcome the difficulties with friendly spirit between whites and non-whites. Everybody must cooperate and that is always the aim of the FIFA".
FIFA reinstated Apartheid South Africa in WC qualifiers. As result, the African confederation followed through with its 1966 WC boycott warning.

In 1968, Rous ratified 1 WC slot for Africa and Asia each. In his wisdom, Rous used his 1968 FIFA presidential address to threaten African members, as they pursued Apartheid South Africa's expulsion from the Olympics:
"We are here concerned with football, the FIFA and the AFC [CAF], not with the I.O.C.
and are responsible for our own decisions not for those of others. Gentlemen, making
threats in our football family is not good legislation. The result could rebound very
unfavorably on those who make them".

Going back to growing women's football outside of UEFA, FIFA has work to do. If it wants a global TV audience for women's sport, then competitive teams outside of UEFA are needed to have a world competition worth watching.

 

Bayern has decided that their players will not be released before 23rd June (German camp start on 20th June) and MVT is really unhappy (to put it politely) because Bayern told her yesterday about it.

 

German team (28 players)

Mit diesen 2️⃣8️⃣ Spielerinnen starten wir in die Vorbereitung zur WM in Australien und Neuseeland 🔥

WIR #IMTEAM 🇩🇪 #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/uS1t5T332j

— DFB-Frauen (@DFB_Frauen) May 31, 2023

 

The devil is in the details: FIFA pays the participating federation, not the participating players.
Let the wholesale of national team call-ups begin.

Now that every @NGSuper_Falcons player on the @FIFAWWC team roster in #Australia & #NewZealand will be paid a MINIMUM of $30,000, for being at the finals, I hope there will be no racketeering, ‘sale’, of team places by dubious officials of @thenff. What cannot happen in #Nigerian… pic.twitter.com/ZuYBde7tN0

— Osasu Obayiuwana (@osasuo) June 8, 2023

 

HAI WNT facing heavy challenges as WWC approaches:
- No sponsors, neither private nor public.
- No home games.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...s-at-world-cup-without-sponsors-local-support

FIFA's recent expansion for WWC delegates per national federation was welcomed by HAI federation, though.
Just watch how its 50-strong delegation travels and dines around Australia, while HAI players struggle to pay for equipment.

 

TV right for the French market are close to being sold. It looks like FIFA have backed down from their original 10 to 20 M€ request for our market. The usual combo TF1 + Canal + are not in the race and it looks like M6 + France Television ( the public national TV) will pay less than 10 M€.

Le même duo a également négocié le partage des rencontres de l'équipe de France féminine en dehors des grands tournois. https://t.co/4QwbXyKUWS pic.twitter.com/0T6yq4Bcdm

— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) June 10, 2023

 

ARD and ZDF will show World Cup in Germany

Die Frauen-Fußball-WM 2023 live bei ARD und ZDF: https://t.co/CFUnfSqXs9

— Das Erste (@DasErste) June 14, 2023

 

FIFA have caved in and accepted the lower offers from the five European countries.

List of territories in which EBU Members will broadcast the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland (Republic of), Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom

 

It's hard to sell the World Cup for top prize in Europe with the terrible time zone on offer. FIFA didn't have the best hand of cards.

 

I think they could have settled for the asking price at which they have sold now a lot earlier rather than ask for double that amount.

 

And then they would have been criticized for not valuing the women enough. This way, it is on the broadcasters, not on FIFA.

 

Broadcasters are not charities. If you buy a product for x and you end losing money for x/2, that's not a way to manage your company...

 

A Jamaican player's mom has started a fundraiser for some of the team's expenses to the WWC because of a lack of support from JFF:

My teammates mom started a fundraiser for us. https://t.co/XmZ2hqcqQD

Thank you! https://t.co/AQ44wnUGAR

— Cheyna Matthews (@Cheynalee_) June 15, 2023

🇯🇲🚨Jamaica Women’s national team players issue a statement on their “utmost disappointment with the Jamaica Football Federation.”

Poor work from the FA has led to missed compensation, friendlies, and concerns around accessibility to proper resources.

World Cup in 34 days. pic.twitter.com/NBcTJMIDXg

— SHE scores bangers (@SHEscoresbanger) June 15, 2023

I saw someone posting about it that this is "unbelievable." Unfortunately it's all too believable; some things haven't changed.

 

True. It also can be a rationale for a company discriminating against any group based on the company customers’ biases. As in, a newspaper gives far less coverage to women’s sports because its readers consist far more of ones interested in men’s sports (forgetting, of course, that one of the reasons for this is the newspaper historically has promoted men’s sports but not women’s). It is an unfortunate situation.

 

Exactly. Therefore, it's a good idea that Fifa earmarks part of the prize money to pay players directly.

Another idea could be that Fifa actually publishes the media rights fees, and say "X% of the fees go to the earmarked players fund".

 

FIFA does not pay neither players nor clubs directly. Instead, FIFA pays funds to national federations (national team prizes, player prizes, club benefits/compensations, etc). Then, whenever those federations see it fit, they release funds to the intended recipients.

For the Men's World Cup, it is common to see prepayment of "WC team participation prizes", but that is reserved for national federations who are FIFA's buddies. Some federations are more equal than others.

JAM WNT should request early payment of their "WWC team participation prize". However, they will have to go thru their national federation to do so. This is a dilemma for national teams of corrupt federations, because they know the middle-man will always ask for a slice of the pie when you are desperate.