WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
FIFA $100 million short of goal for 2023 Women’s World Cup broadcast rights fees
FIFA has fallen roughly $100 million (£76 million/€89 million) short of its goal for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand broadcast rights fees.
The game’s international ruling body aimed to sign deals valuing the quadrennial event’s global broadcasting rights at $300 million (£229 million/€267 million), but it will instead settle for closer to $200 million (£152million/€178million), the Wall Street Journal reports.
FIFA is on track to bring in about $50 million (£38 million/€44 million) in new broadcast rights sales since last year’s men’s World Cup, which is about a third of the $150 million (£115 million/€133 million) new fees it hoped to secure.
This year’s Women’s World Cup is the first in which FIFA separately sold broadcast rights to the tournament, a break from the past in which the rights were essentially given for free to broadcasters who bought rights to the men’s tournament.
In May, FIFA President Gianni Infantino branded rights offers from the five leading European nations to broadcast the event as “a slap in the face for women worldwide” and warned that they could face a television blackout unless offers were improved.
“The viewing figures of the FIFA Women’s World Cup are 50-60 per cent 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,” he added.
But last month a deal was done which added the Big Five – and Ukraine – to the European Broadcasting Union arrangement to broadcast the World Cup free-to-air in a number of other European countries.
But the level of the European arrangement was reflected by the joint deal with BBC and ITV for the rights, which is reportedly worth around £9 million (£11.5 million/€10.5 million) which is just eight per cent of the cost of televising the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In the United States, however, Fox has recorded strong ad sales for its upcoming Women’s World Cup coverage, selling out 90 per cent of its inventory by June and 50 per cent more than the 2019 tournament.
Fox Sports chief executive Eric Shanks told Front Office Sports that the suboptimal time difference is why FIFA placed the United States team in New Zealand instead of Australia.
“I think that’s a big reason why FIFA realised that it’s probably better for the US national team to be based in New Zealand,” Shanks said.
“One of the reasons probably is that time zone’s much more friendly to the U.S.
“So we’ll have the early games while they’re in New Zealand starting at like 9pm Eastern.
“And then it kinda gets a little bit all over the place; they’re either gonna be primetime games or fairly earlier in the morning.”
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Flamingos Set for Morocco 2025 as Nigeria’s U-17s Depart Abuja for Final World Cup Preparations
Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, will depart Abuja in the early hours of Wednesday, October 8, as they begin the final leg of preparations for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup scheduled to take place in Morocco.
The team will travel aboard Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca, Morocco’s industrial and economic hub, where they will set up camp ahead of the tournament.
During their stay in Casablanca, the Flamingos will step up their build-up programme with two high-profile international friendlies — first against New Zealand on October 10, and then Paraguay on October 14.
Following their training camp, the team will move into the official FIFA hotel in Rabat on October 15, joining other participating nations as the countdown begins to the global showpiece.
Drawn in Group D, Nigeria will face Canada, France, and Samoa in what promises to be a competitive group. The Flamingos will begin their campaign against Canada on Sunday, October 19, before locking horns with France three days later.
Both matches will be played at the Football Academy Mohammed VI in Sale, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. Nigerian time. Their final group match comes against Samoa on October 25, starting at 5 p.m., also in Sale.
Head Coach Bankole Olowookere’s side heads into the tournament brimming with confidence after a remarkable build-up.
The Flamingos have played 10 tune-up games, scoring an impressive 44 goals without conceding any, a record that highlights their attacking prowess and defensive discipline.
Olowookere has expressed optimism about his team’s readiness, noting that the squad’s balance and form give them belief they can surpass their quarter-final finish at the last edition in the Dominican Republic.
With a perfect preparation run and growing momentum, the Flamingos will be aiming to make history in Morocco and bring pride to Nigerian women’s football once again.
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Nigeria’s U17 Women’s National Team, the Flamingos, are rounding off their preparations for the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco with a string of dominant performances that underscore their growing confidence and team chemistry.
In a remarkable build-up campaign, the Flamingos have played eight friendly matches in Abuja, winning all and maintaining a perfect defensive record. The team has scored 26 goals without conceding, a run that has lifted morale and heightened expectations ahead of their World Cup challenge.
Last week, the team showcased their attacking prowess with a convincing 3–0 victory over Abuja All-Stars.
Praise Agba opened the scoring from a loose ball, Olamide Olanrewaju doubled the lead from the penalty spot, and Zainab Raji sealed the win with a thunderous strike shortly after the restart. Goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu was outstanding between the sticks, producing several key saves to preserve another clean sheet.
Earlier, the Flamingos overcame a rain-disrupted clash against Josiah Academy, running out 2–0 winners courtesy of a Chisom Nwachukwu brace within the opening 10 minutes before the downpour forced an early end to proceedings.
The girls also recorded emphatic wins over Nazareth Angels (5–0), with Queen Joseph bagging a brace and goals from Praise Agba, Mariam Yahaya, and Chisom Nwachukwu; and Horvel Prime (5–0), where Joseph netted a first-half hat-trick, while captain Shakirat Moshood and Azeezat Oduntan added one apiece.
Across all their tune-up matches, the Flamingos have demonstrated an impressive balance — clinical in attack, disciplined in midfield, and solid at the back — as they fine-tune for global competition.
Drawn in Group D alongside Canada, France, and Samoa, Nigeria will depart for Morocco on October 8, aiming to carry their perfect form into the tournament, which runs from October 17 to November 8.
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Nigeria’s U20 women’s team, the Falconets, continued the country’s dominance over Rwanda on the international football stage by securing a 1–0 victory in Kigali on Sunday in the first leg of their 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup second-round qualifier.
The narrow win comes against the backdrop of two recent triumphs by the Super Eagles over Rwanda in the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying series, underlining Nigeria’s growing hold in encounters with the East Africans.
At the Kigali-Pele Stadium in Nyamirambo, both sides battled fiercely in a goalless first half, with chances at a premium. The breakthrough arrived in the 70th minute when Alaba Olabiyi bundled the ball home from a goalmouth scramble after a Falconets corner. The strike proved enough to hand Coach Moses Aduku a winning start in his first competitive game in charge of the team.
With the victory, the Falconets carry a slim but valuable advantage into the return leg at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan, on Saturday, where they will be backed by home support as they push for a place in the next round of qualifiers.
The team’s delegation is expected back in Nigeria on Monday morning to begin preparations for the decisive clash.
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