The Stream

Scoring equality in women’s football

What will it take to improve the profile of the women’s game?

Twenty-four national teams are currently competing for the FIFA Women’s World Cup being played in Canada. Unlike other FIFA stories that dominated headlines for weeks, coverage of the event and the players has not had nearly the same impact. Women’s football is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. More than 30 million play and it’s becoming increasingly popular in countries like Jordan, Romania and Kazakhstan. This year’s Women’s World Cup is already drawing record breaking crowds, but there are stark differences in the way women’s tournaments are marketed and players are rewarded. The winning team will take home $2 million, that’s up one million from the last tournament, but pales in comparison to the $35 million the men’s team was awarded in 2014. Is there equal room for women footballers in the multi-billion dollar industry, or does it even matter if they’re on par with their male counterparts? We discuss at 1930GMT.

On today’s episode, we speak to: 

Tatjana Haenni @tatjanahaenni
Deputy Director of the Competitions Division for Women’s Football, FIFA
fifa.com

Ann Odong @AnnOdong
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Women’s Game
thewomensgame.com

Rachel Allison @rallis2
Assistant Professor of Sociology, Mississippi State University
rachelallison.net

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.