By Nurat Uthman
FIFA President Gianni Infantino responded to critics of the decision to expand the Women’s World Cup to 32 teams, asserting that FIFA made the right choice. The final match between England and Spain will take place on Sunday in Sydney, marking the culmination of a month-long tournament that featured 32 teams for the first time, up from 24 in 2019. Concerns were raised that the increased number of teams would result in weaker sides and unbalanced scorelines. However, the World Cup witnessed higher-ranked teams being eliminated early on, while Jamaica, Morocco, and South Africa reached the knockout stage for the first time. Speaking at a FIFA convention in Sydney focused on women’s football, Infantino described this Women’s World Cup as the “biggest and best ever.” He acknowledged that critics had expressed doubts about the expansion, claiming that the level of play was too disparate and that there would be excessively high scores, which would negatively impact women’s football and its reputation. Nonetheless, Infantino defended FIFA’s decision, emphasizing that it provided more countries around the world with an opportunity to participate and that everyone now believes they have a chance to shine on the global stage. Infantino also highlighted FIFA’s significant investment of $1 billion in the women’s game and declared that “full equality has been reached” with men’s football. The World Cup generated over $570 million in revenue, allowing FIFA to break even and achieve the second-highest income of any sport on a global scale, second only to the men’s World Cup. Infantino acknowledged that improvements still need to be made but expressed confidence that FIFA is on the right path.
