European sports ministers urge quick resolution of Women's World Cup broadcast rights

The sports ministers of Britain, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy have asked FIFA to resolve the broadcasting issue of the upcoming Women's World Cup at the earliest. 

FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier said that five European countries including Britain, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy would face a blackout unless "unacceptable" bids were improved. 

All the European sports ministers came to one table and urged FIFA to resolve this issue. 

It must be noted here that the broadcasting rights of women's World Cup were sold separately from men's event. The broadcasters had offered only $1 million-$10 million for the rights for this year's tournament in Australia and New Zealand, compared to $100 million-$200 million for the men's World Cup in Qatar.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the sports ministers of those five countries said they were aware of the constraints on broadcasters, but stressed the importance of "improving the global visibility of women's sports" in their countries.

"Media exposure to women's sports has indeed a highly significant impact on the development of women's and young girls' sports practices," the statement said.

"Because of the high potential of the FIFA Women's World Cup and the sport and social issues at stake, we consider it our responsibility to fully mobilise all stakeholders, for them to quickly reach an agreement.

"These are decisions for FIFA and broadcasters to take independently, but we know that discussions are in progress and we are confident in FIFA and independent broadcasters' capability to find a common path toward fair development of the FIFA Women's World Cup."

The ninth Women's World Cup kicks off in Sydney and Auckland on July 20.

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