Going Down Under

The 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has thrown up plenty of challenges

- GLENN MOORE

 

The first football World Cup of either gender to be held in Australasia will prove a useful barometer of how far the women’s game has climbed in sport’s hierarchy. For decades Australians have been staying up late or waking early to follow events on the other side of the globe. Now, those positions are reversed and the big question is: how many will watch?

The television companies gave their answer, much to the annoyance of FIFA whose decision to uncouple broadcast rights from the men’s competition was unfortunately timed. The governing body’s president, Gianni Infantino, even threatened a blackout after western Europe’s major outlets offered derisory sums for coverage. Deals were eventually struck, but at levels that were only a fraction of those paid to cover the men’s World Cup.

While FIFA’s own past undervaluing of the competition is a factor, kick-off times were undoubtedly an issue. While FIFA have tried to schedule them to suit the big markets, they are not as viewer-friendly as the men’s Qatar finals were. The United States team will be variously kickingoff between 9pm and 3am in New York, and 8pm and midnight in San Francisco, with the final at 6am and 3am respectively. European games will mostly be morning kick-offs when many people are at work.