The 2023 Women’s World Cup begins in July with 32 teams in six federations competing to prove they are the best team in the world. As the tournament tears, early estimates for the media rights costs suggest there will be record-setting revenue in 2023.
It was previously announced in March that the Women’s World Cup prize pool would climb in 2023, spiking by 300 percent compared to the 2019 pool. While it still falls well short of the men’s World Cup, the increased revenue could be a sign of things to come based on the earning power through media rights agreements.
- Women’s World Cup prize money: $150 million
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Women’s World Cup this summer could be worth more than $300 million in media rights contracts. It’s an estimation that comes after the 2019 tournament pulled in massive audiences, becoming one of the most-watching sporting events at the time.
FIFA announced in 2019 that a combined 1.12 billion viewers watched the last women’s world cup, a record-setting total in the tournament’s history. Furthermore, per CNBC.com, the average audience size in the United States was higher for the women’s final than for the 2018 men’s final.
A correlation can easily be made between the high ratings in the United States and the record-setting revenue projections and the success of the US Women’s National Team. The USWNT won the Women’s World Cup in 2019, winning its fourth title.
Heading into May, the United States still ranks No. 1 in FIFA’s international women’s soccer world rankings. Unsurprisingly, the USWNT is favored (+275) to win the Women’s World Cup in July.
While the prize money still falls well below the total for the men’s soccer tournament ($440 million), the gap will likely narrow in the years to come with the exploding popularity of women’s soccer and the continued excellence of the USWNT.
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