Euronews has interviewed the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, who has spoken at length about a women’s soccer World Cup for which he only has good words.
**Sam Ashoo, euronews:**It was a tournament that broke new ground, the first FIFA Women’s World Cup on the continent. The tournament has broken an audience record in Australia. We spoke exclusively to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him directly about his impressions of him after the competition.
**Gianni Infantino, FIFA President: “**I am extremely happy, extremely proud. This FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 was simply the best, the best FIFA Women’s World Cup ever. Great atmosphere: stadiums full, on the streets, everywhere. People happy, happy. Australia and New Zealand have been really fantastic, fantastic hosts at home. 2 billion (TV) viewers, in the stadiums 2 million viewers. They fought many, many records. Surprises, results we couldn’t expect. Eight rookies and one world champion, what else do you want?”
Q: Looking ahead, what would you say is the legacy of this competition?
Well, I think this FIFA Women’s World Cup has really had a transformative impact on society, definitely ‘down there’, in Australia and New Zealand. That’s what everyone here is telling me. Even globally, people now look at women’s football in a completely different way because for many it was perhaps the first time they watched a match and they see that it’s actually a great sport, great athletes, great technical skills, great tactical skills, great emotions, great passion. The same as for men. And with a very happy atmosphere. So I think everyone is looking at women’s football in a completely different way now. And this is exactly what we wanted to achieve. And from here we go to the next level.
And it’s that level, would you say, now in terms of the record numbers that we’ve seen so far in this competition, do you envision a time where a lot of eyes are on this competition? In terms of audience, can it be like the men’s world championships?
Well, I think the future is definitely for women’s football. And it’s not just a public relations thing, it’s not just something we say. It is really the facts and figures that prove it. And, you know, half of the world’s population are women. So it’s obvious that this is going to grow, this is going to prosper. And there aren’t many men’s competitions that can compete with this FIFA Women’s World Cup anymore. So from there I think the way is open for this to become as big as the men’s World Cup.
