Infantino Proposes Expanded Women’s World Cup

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has outlined five key proposals for the future development of women’s football, including the expansion of the World Cup from 24 to 32 teams for the 2023 edition.

Infantino has also proposed the creation of a FIFA Club World Cup for women, which would start “as soon as possible”, and a Women’s World League national team tournament.

Other proposals include doubling the prize money for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and doubling the investment in the women’s game over the next four-year cycle from $500m to $1bn.

The 2019 World Cup, which was won by the USA, featured 24 teams and the expansion may require a reopening of the bidding process for the 2023 tournament, the host of which has not yet been announced.

Infantino said: “We need to do more to make sure that this gap (between Europe and other continents) doesn’t become bigger. We want to channel part of this investment into the grassroots of the game all over the world. We need to invest much more where there is no women’s football, rather than where the women’s game already exists.”

Infantino also praised the impact this year’s Women’s World Cup had, hailing it as the best ever. “Something extraordinary happened here,” he said. “It was all thanks to the French people that this Women’s World Cup became what it is, the best ever. That’s why there will be a before and after the Women’s World Cup 2019.

“Many people around the world have tuned in for the first time to watch a women’s football match and they saw that it is football. We have athletes playing football with physical, technical, tactical skills. What other event, other than the men’s World Cup, can unite one billion people around the world to come together like this?”