FIFA, the governing body for football, has approved the investment of USD 1 billion in women’s football over the course of the 2019-2022 cycle.
This is a 100 % increase from the USD500 million that the FIFA congress had approved earlier.
The decision, to award Indonesia the 2021 World Cup Under-21, was also made during the FIFA Council Meeting in Shanghai, China earlier today.
It has been reported that the additional funding would come from FIFA’s existing USD2.7 billion cash reserves.
The decision was widely expected to be pushed through with the growing stature of the women’s game and also the wide imbalance with the amount of money spend on promoting the men’s game.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had earlier this year, revealed plans to also significantly increase bonus payments to players at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The USA women, who had won the coveted Cup had taken their national federation to task for failing to give equal status to the women despite their better performances at the international arena.
The American women team have won the World Cup a record four times, the same number of times they have won at the Olympics. In contrast their men have never won either tournaments and even failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
The Women’s World Cup earlier this year has seen a massive spike in viewership. An estimated 1.12 billion viewers watched coverage of France 2019 on TV at home, on digital platforms or out-of-home
The Final alone attracted 260 million viewers, with average live match audience more than doubling from the 2015 edition.
With FIFA considering the creation of a women’s World League, similar to UEFA’s Nations League, as well as a Club World Cup for women, the additional funding would be welcome news.
The FIFA Council also voted on a number of key steps for the future of international tournaments including the award of the 2021 World Cup to Indonesia ahead of Brazil and Peru.
This would be the biggest tournament that the football crazy nation has ever been tasked with.
The All-Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) have identified ten stadiums – Gelora Bung Karno (Jakarta), Pakansari (Bogor), Manahan (Solo), I Wayan Dipta (Bali), Mandala Krida (Yogyakarta), Jakabaring (Palembang), Wibawa Mukti (Cikarang), Patriot (Bekasi), Jalak Harupat (Bandung) and Gelora Bung Tomo (Surabaya) – for the tournament.
PSSI secretary general Ratu Tisha Destria in a statement following the decision said that after being entrusted with hosting Asian level tournaments, this was a step for Indonesia.
“All our hard work did not go to waste. Our presentation was evaluated and well accepted by FIFA. Our appreciation to the support given by Indonesia president Joko Widodo as well as the various districts heads for their assistance and support in making this dream come true,” said added.
FIFA also made the unanimous decision to appoint China as the host of the first edition of the new FIFA Club World Cup in 2021. The tournament will be played between June and July 2021 and the final list of venues would be decided by FIFA and the Chinese FA.
The participation model to determine the clubs that qualify from each confederation will be finalised in a consultation process between FIFA and the six confederations.
Peru were picked as the host of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2021 while Russia as the host of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2021.
The FIFA council also confirmed the appointment of Tokyo as the host of the 71st FIFA Congress in May 2021.
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