FIFA Responsible For Low Value Of Women's World Cup — Dodd

Moya Dodd, a former FIFA Council member, has criticised FIFA President Gianni Infantino's threat of a Women's World Cup broadcast blackout in Europe this year.

FIFA is selling TV rights to the women's tournament separately from the men's for the first time, and Infantino said Europe's 'Big 5' nations face a blackout unless broadcasters improve their offers.

However, Dodd believes that FIFA is responsible for historically undervaluing the women's tournament by selling the rights together with the men's.

She argued that the broadcast industry had been trained to pay big money for the men's World Cup and treat the women's equivalent as worthless.

"Now that FIFA has decided to sell the rights separately, it's no surprise that the buyers don't want to pay the same big numbers twice," Dodd told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Effectively, the industry was trained to pay big money for the men's World Cup and treat the women's equivalent as worthless.

"At the same time, the women were told they didn't deserve prize money or equal pay because they didn't bring the revenues.

"It's actually quite outrageous. For FIFA to now say that all women's revenues will go straight into women's football overlooks the fact that the value of women's rights have until now been used to inflate the value of men's football."

Dodd suggested that instead of threatening broadcasters, FIFA should review all of its bundled deals and attribute a fair proportion to the women's game.

She said that if the Women's World Cup gets 50-60 per cent of the viewers of the men's, as FIFA claims, it should amount to a sum in the billions.

The Women's World Cup will be held from July 20-August 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

FIFA is selling the TV rights to the tournament separately, and broadcasters from Britain, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy have offered only $1 million-$10 million for the rights, compared to $100 million-$200 million for the men's World Cup.