Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
Sport
Ben McKay

FIFA boss wants WWC broadcasters to pay up

Gianni Infantino says some broadcast rights offers for the Women's World Cup are far too low. (PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO) (AAP)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has lashed broadcasters over their offers to screen next year's Women's World Cup, saying some are offering "100 times less" than they pay for the men's event.

Infantino is in Auckland for the draw for the 2023 tournament, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and the bi-annual FIFA Council meeting.

He emerged from the meeting to declare FIFA would not accept derisory rights offers for the tournament "from some countries - I don't want to mention them - but those who they are, they know it".

"When broadcasters - often public broadcasters, but also private broadcasters - offer us 100 times less for the Women's World Cup than the men's World Cup, even more than 100 times in some occasions, that is not acceptable," he said.

"We are not going to accept this."

FIFA revealed earlier this week it had turned down offers from broadcasters in Italy, Germany, France and the UK to show the 2023 tournament, which will be biggest women's sporting event of all time.

In Australia, FIFA has awarded broadcasting rights to Optus Sport, with Matildas games understood to be on-sold to free-to-air broadcaster Seven.

FIFA is attempting to commercialise the Women's World Cup, after previously offering rights in a package deal with the men's tournament.

Infantino said the 2023 tournament would cost FIFA around $US400 million ($A638 million) dollars, and they wanted to recoup their investment.

"We want at least to break even ... if not we'll cross-finance it of course with the men's World Cup," he said.

"Hopefully this one, (if not) the next one we need to start making some profit.

"We know that the viewing figures for these broadcasters in some big footballing countries for the men's World Cup or for the Women's World Cup are actually very similar, especially in the recent past.

"We have viewing figures in the US Women's World Cup, 1.2 billion people around the world ... the final 263 million, which is more than twice the Super Bowl."

FIFA has set a goal to sell 1.5 million tickets, an increase from 1.2 million at the last event, with 200,000 sold in the first week.

Infantino said he was also eager to see a 16-team women's tournament at the Olympic Games, up from 12, and he would hold talks with the IOC to lift the number of teams to align it with the men's tournament.

In Auckland, the FIFA Council also resolved to introduce new regulations to limit third-party fees that Infantino said would see $US400 million returned to the sport.

"Payments to strange places will not be allowed anymore, to strange bank accounts and strange countries will just not be tolerated anymore," Infantino said.

Other items in the FIFA Council agenda, including the awarding of the next hosts of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, were deferred to the next meeting - which will also elect the next FIFA President.

The 52-year-old Infantino, who is running for another term in 2023, has won the support of South America and Oceania confederations in recent days, and said he believed he would win.

"Yes I'm confident, I'm confident because of the support I receive all over the world," he said.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.