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FIFA President Gianni Infantino has warned of a potential Women’s World Cup broadcast blackout in five major European countries over offers of media rights that are deemed to be unacceptable. Infantino spoke out against offers from broadcasters in the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany and France, calling them “very disappointing and simply not acceptable based on four criteria.”

Infantino has urged broadcasters to pay a “fair” price for the media rights of the tournament, stating that “it is our moral and legal obligation not to undersell the FIFA Women’s World Cup.” Australia and New Zealand will co-host the 2023 Women’s World Cup from July 20 until August 20.

Infantino noted that while broadcasters pay $100 to $200 million for the men’s FIFA World Cup, they offer only $1 to $10 million for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. He called the current offers a “slap in the face of all the great FIFA Women’s World Cup players and indeed of all women worldwide.”

Infantino further added that “100% of any rights fees paid would go straight into women’s football, in our move to promote actions towards equal conditions and pay. Secondly, public broadcasters in particular have a duty to promote and invest in women’s sport.”

He highlighted that the viewing figures of the FIFA Women’s World Cup are 50-60% of the men’s FIFA World Cup, yet the broadcasters’ offers in the ‘Big 5’ European countries for the FIFA Women’s World Cup are 20 to 100 times lower than for the men’s FIFA World Cup.

FIFA has agreed to media rights deals with 156 territories for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but negotiations between FIFA and the “Big 5” European countries are ongoing over media rights for the tournament. Infantino stated that should offers continue not to be fair towards women and women’s football, FIFA will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup into the ‘Big 5’ European countries.

In March, Infantino announced that prize money for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup would increase by 300% to $150 million, with “plans to dedicate a specific portion of this payment to go to football development with another portion to go to players.” While the prize money is now three times the 2019 figure and ten times more than in 2015, prior to Infantino taking over, it is still considerably lower than the $440 million total prize money awarded at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year.

Infantino has made clear his commitment to promoting women’s football and ensuring equality, but the ongoing negotiations over media rights for the Women’s World Cup highlight the ongoing challenges and disparities that remain.