Sydney, August 18 (Xinhua) -- On August 18, FIFA held the World Women's Football Conference in Sydney. FIFA President Gianni Gianni Infantino said at the meeting that the 2023 Women's World Cup has set many records and is the most successful Women's World Cup in history, changing the development pattern of women's football in the entire world.
FIFA President Gianni Gianni Giannino (front center) watches the women's World Cup quarterfinals on August 8. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhu Wei
"Standing before you now is a very happy FIFA president. I receive good news every day, and we are witnessing new records every day. "By many numbers, this is the best and most successful Women's World Cup in history." According to statistics, 2 million fans attended the game live, and 2 billion TV viewers watched the live broadcast of the game. ”
The tournament is the first 32-team Women's World Cup, and Infantino said there are many who do not support FIFA's expansion plans. "They think it will reduce the quality of the game. Before the start of the match, who would have thought that Jamaica, South Africa and Morocco qualified, while Brazil, Italy and Germany did not. ”
Moroccan players and fans celebrate their victory after a match on August 3. On the same day, in the group H match of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Perth, Australia, Morocco defeated Colombia 1-0, and the two teams joined hands to advance to the knockout stage. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Ting
"This Women's World Cup saw the first six Intercontinental teams win, the first five Intercontinental teams qualified, and the first three African teams qualified. The number of teams participating in the qualifiers has increased from 134 in 2019 to 188 now. It was a transformative World Cup and women's football truly became a global sport. ”
Infantino said FIFA has invested more than US$1 billion (US$1 is about 7.28 yuan) in recent years to promote the development of women's football. The total prize money of this Women's World Cup is 152 million US dollars, which is 3 times that of the 2019 World Cup and 10 times that of the 2015 World Cup. "Some people say we spend too much money on women's football and it's not a good business. But judging from the results, the total revenue of this Women's World Cup reached 570 million US dollars, achieving a breakeven. ”
On August 16, Australian players celebrate their team's goal during a match. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ding Xu
Infantino said FIFA would work to organise more women's matches in the future. "The level of the Women's European League is high, but not everyone can play in Europe. In the future, FIFA will be committed to helping more member associations establish a women's football league system, improve the level of professionalism, and organize women's football events at all levels. ”
"I want to tell all women that you have the power to change a lot of things," Infantino said. Let's keep the momentum generated by this tournament and really promote the development of women's football. Boldly push open the door and walk in. ”
Source: Xinhua News Agency