FIFA president hails "best ever" Women's World Cup

Aug 18, 2023 - 14:53

FIFA president Gianni Infantino (front 2nd R) watches the round of 16 match between Colombia and Jamaica at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Melbourne, Australia, Aug. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

SYDNEY, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) --

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Friday that the 2023 Women's World Cup is the best ever and has transformed the face of women's football in general.

"Today you have a very happy FIFA president in front of you," Infantino noted at FIFA Women's Football Convention here on Friday. "This FIFA Women's World Cup has been truly transformational, not only in Australia and New Zealand but all over the world."

"In the host countries, we had almost two million spectators in the stadiums, and two billion watching all over the world," he revealed, adding that the tournament had generated a record high 570 million dollars in revenue.

Infantino added that the tournament's success justified the decision to enlarge the tournament from 24 to 32 teams. "FIFA was right," he said. "By increasing the number of teams, we had eight debutants, we had many countries who suddenly realised they had a chance to participate. Now, everyone has a chance to shine on the global stage."

Meanwhile, Infantino noted that there is still much to do for women's football, pointing out that many member associations don't have competitive local women's leagues. "Female players cannot all go to play in a few clubs in Europe or the USA. We need in the next four years to create the conditions for them to be able to play at professional level at home and this is the biggest challenge we have to take on board."

"We need everyone. We need the United Nation agencies, who have been very helpful to us in this World Cup. We need the governments, we need the institutions, to create dedicated spaces for women, and for women's sport and women's football in particular," Infantino said.

He also urged stakeholders to keep the momentum after the tournament. "I say to all the women that you have the power to change. With FIFA, you will find open doors, just push the doors, they are open. And do it at national level in every country, at continental level in every confederation, just keep pushing, keep the momentum going, keep dreaming and let's really go for a full equality," he added.