Tag: FIFA

A look at all eight previous Women’s World Cup finals

A look back at every single Women’s World Cup final

The Women’s World Cup final is set as England and Spain face off in a battle of first-time finalists.

Spain continues to overcome recent team turmoil and defeated Sweden 2-1 in Tuesday’s first semifinal, while England knocked off host nation Australia in Wednesday’s second semifinal.

While Sam Kerr and Australia didn’t get their fairytale ending, the Matildas still have one game left, Saturday’s third-place match against Sweden.

A matchup of first-time finalists means Sunday’s final is set to crown a first-time champion. While we wait for this weekend’s action, let’s take a look back at all the previous Women’s World Cup finals and see who the 2023 champs will be joining in eternal soccer glory.

Gianni Infantino just flew to the World Cup, and boy are his arms tired

It’s not a World Cup unless Infantino gets a little weird

The last time FIFA president Gianni Infantino arrived at a World Cup, he lashed out at critics of the 2022 men’s tournament in Qatar during a bizarre monologue.

This time? He just wants a nap.

At a press conference just before the start of the ninth women’s World Cup, Infantino decided to bring up his tone-deaf remarks in the form of a joke.

“For those of you who are waiting to hear how I feel today, today I feel tired,” said Infantino. “Because I have just landed. But I feel very happy.”

In Qatar, Infantino decided the best choice, in the face of criticisms of a World Cup built on the years-long abuse of migrant labor in a country that criminalizes homosexuality, was to claim he identified with every group involved.

“Today I have very strong feelings,” railed Infantino last November. “Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker. And I feel all this because what I’ve been seeing and what I’ve been told, since I don’t read, otherwise I would be depressed, I think.”

In Auckland, however, he fell back on a “I just flew into town, and boy are my arms tired!” level joke. Reporters on site did not make note of any rimshots sounding in the room.

Infantino moved on to announce that he will only be talking about things that he thinks are good during the tournament. Critics will apparently just have to wait until late next month.

“Until August 20, you will only hear positive things from me about everything and everyone, and if somebody is still not happy about something, then I am so sorry,” said Infantino. “As of August 21 we focus on some other issues around the world. We will deal with all the problems coming up. But seriously we have made important steps and made a path.”

Infantino: FIFA will send player payments to national federations

Infantino moved on to discuss FIFA’s move to pay players directly and boost prize money overall in the women’s World Cup. However, Infantino was largely trying to serve a reminder that the world governing body will still send the money to the 32 national federations to then disperse to players.

“Whatever payments we do, we do through the associations,” said Infantino. “And then the associations make the relevant payments to their players. But we are in touch with the associations.”

Despite his interest in positive vibes only, this may turn into a problem. Several national teams have indicated huge problems with their federation: Canada players testified before the nation’s House of Commons over Canada Soccer’s poor treatment of its women’s program, while players and coaches for Nigeria say its federation already owes them money.

Jamaica had to resort to a GoFundMe after making a collective statement saying that the Jamaica Football Federation has once again failed to support them at even a basic level. At the other end of the spectrum, even England has ended up hitting the pause button on bonus talks with the FA, with players announcing on Tuesday that they are “disappointed” at not having a resolution in place before the tournament.

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Where each team in the 2023 World Cup ranks, from top (USWNT!) to bottom

USWNT is on top again. But what about the other 31 teams?

The 2023 World Cup is finally here, folks. Yes, somehow, it’s been four years since the U.S. Women’s National Team took home the cup. It’s time to see if they’ll be able to run it back.

The United States is at the head of the competition with FIFA’s No. 1 overall ranking. But the competition is stout this year with teams like Germany, Sweden and England not far behind. Australia might have the best player in the world in Sam Kerr, and it only ranks 10th overall globally.

As far as where everyone stands heading into this year’s World Cup, here’s a look at where every participating team currently ranks.

RELATED: The complete USWNT schedule, from group stage to another possible final

Every FIFA game cover athlete

Every soccer star to ever grace the cover of a FIFA game. These athletes define their respective eras.

There have been a lot of cover stars for FIFA games. Many games feature multiple athletes, and newer games even feature multiple versions, with different stars on each cover. Wayne Rooney might be on a lot of them, but starring on the cover of a FIFA game marks you as one of the biggest names in the sport. 

If you want to get a feel for who the biggest soccer star is at any point since 1993, you can just check the FIFA cover for that year – and that’s exactly what this list will help you to do. Scroll down below for a trip down memory lane, and a reminder of who the biggest soccer superstars have been over the last 30 years.

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2023 World Cup Betting Breakdown Group C: Spain looks to pose major threat

Spain and Zambia are two teams to keep a close eye on in Group C.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is about to kick off, and Group C features Spain as its betting favorite.

Spain’s national women’s team enters this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup with recent controversy affecting its roster. However, the team still has a clear path to advance to the knockout stage after doing the same in 2019.

They’ll be joined by Japan, Costa Rica and first-time contenders Zambia, who will all have a chance to join probable favorites Spain in advancing to the next round.

It remains to be seen how much Spain will be affected by the recent rift between select players and coach Jorge Vilda. However, they’ll enter this year’s World Cup with great odds to advance for further competition.

NFL-style VAR explanations are coming to the Women’s World Cup

Explanations will be broadcast on television and to in-person fans through the stadium’s loudspeaker

Referees at the 2023 Women’s World Cup will announce VAR decisions to television viewers and fans at stadiums through loudspeakers, FIFA confirmed on Wednesday.

At a press briefing, FIFA said that the new system — which has been used at the Club World Cup in Morocco and the U-20 World Cup in Argentina — will now be used at a tier-one tournament for the first time.

The system is designed to improve transparency around VAR decisions. In February, chairman of FIFA’s referee committee Pierluigi Collina said that the NFL was an inspiration for the new implementation.

“We decided to have this trial because we received some requests to make the decision taken by the referee after a VAR intervention more understandable for all the football stakeholders, namely the spectators at the stadium, or in front of the television,” Collina said.

“I have to say that there are other experiences in other sports, namely the NFL in American football, who have been doing this for quite a long time. It seems that the referees are pretty comfortable with this.”

The on-field referee will wear a microphone and explain VAR decisions after they have been made, with those explanations broadcast on television and to in-person fans through the stadium’s loudspeaker.

It’s expected that referees will only explain the decision itself, rather than the decision-making process behind it.

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FIFA bans OneLove armband at 2023 World Cup, offers alternatives

Captains can’t wear the original, but FIFA has made some knockoffs

FIFA has once again dismissed the possibility of wearing “OneLove” armbands, but at least provided some alternatives for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Soccer’s governing body turned down a request from several European national teams to allow the “OneLove” design on captain’s armbands during the 2022 men’s World Cup. That decision extends to this summer’s women’s tournament, but FIFA has come up with eight options for teams “after consultation with 32 participating teams, players and United Nations agencies.”

The eight captain’s armbands available are all connected to a United Nations (UN) branch, save for one linked to the World Health Organization (WHO):

  • Unite for Inclusion (UN Human Rights)
  • Unite for Indigenous Peoples (UN Human Rights)
  • Unite for Gender Equality (UN Women)
  • Unite for Peace (UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency)
  • Unite for Education for All (UNESCO)
  • Unite for Zero Hunger (UN World Food Program)
  • Unite for Ending Violence Against Women (UN Women)
  • Football is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope & Passion (WHO)

“It’s not just about what happens on the pitch,” said FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura in a press release announcing the armband themes. “We are committed to using football’s power as a force for good and leveraging our partnerships with United Nations agencies to achieve our goals. We want to say thank you. Thank you to the players and the teams for sharing your support, for these causes. United, we can make a difference.”

It is also worth noting that FIFA’s “Unite for Inclusion” armband bears more than a passing resemblance to the actual OneLove armband, which several UEFA countries used in Euro 2020 on the men’s side of the coin.

(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

England captain Leah Williamson had stated at a February press conference that she would like to wear the OneLove armband whenever possible.

“The statement that was made at the Euros with every team participating was incredible, every picture we have with a trophy lift there’s a rainbow armband in there,” said Williamson. “We’re a squad that promotes inclusivity and equality, we obviously have a number of people that feel very strongly about it. It’s not even a question for us.”

This being FIFA, captains and teams can’t simply choose the armband they feel would be best on a given day. Instead, they have to choose between three options: wearing a “Football Unites the World” armband for the entire tournament; picking one of the eight themed armbands and wearing that in every game; or wearing the armband that corresponds with a specific matchday’s theme.

Captains who don’t follow that edict will be subject to being booked, as FIFA considers wearing an armband without approval a uniform violation.

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FIFA awards United States first expanded Club World Cup in 2025

Every major tournament seems to be on its way to the U.S.

FIFA has awarded the first ever expanded 32-team Club World Cup to the United States, with the tournament set to take place in 2025.

The governing body announced their decision on Friday, saying that the FIFA Council was unanimous in its vote.

“The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football, and with the required infrastructure in place together with a massive local interest, the United States is the ideal host to kick off this new, global tournament,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino in a news release.

“With some of the world’s top clubs already qualified, fans from every continent will be bringing their passion and energy to the United States in two years’ time for this significant milestone in our mission to make football truly global.”

The U.S. is now set to host an incredible streak of major soccer events: the 2024 Copa America, the 2025 Club World Cup and the 2026 men’s World Cup are confirmed, along with the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Should FIFA select a joint USA-Mexico bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, that would mark five straight summers with a marquee event in the United States.

FIFA said that the 2025 Club World Cup will serve as something of a dry run for the 48-team World Cup the following summer.

Awarding the 2025 event to the U.S. “would allow FIFA to maximize synergies with the delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026, to the benefit of both tournaments and the development of football in the North American region,” the release said.

In December, Infantino announced that FIFA was moving forward with an expanded 32-team format for the Club World Cup, which has existed for several years with just seven teams participating.

Infantino said the tournament would be held in the summer and that the “best teams in the world” would be invited to participate.

There has been a backlash against the expanded tournament, however, with complaints about unnecessary competition with the UEFA Champions League, as well as adding more fixtures into an already crowded schedule.

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2023 Women’s World Cup prize distribution guarantees money to players for first time

FIFA is, at long last, paying women’s players directly

For the first time ever, players at the Women’s World Cup will be guaranteed prize money.

FIFA announced a new breakdown of prize allocations for the 2023 World Cup, set for Australia and New Zealand in July and August. This tournament’s method for distributing money will break up the prizes into two pools: one for the association of each national team participating, and one for the players themselves.

“Under this ground-breaking new model, Participating Member Associations (PMAs) will receive record distributions to support football development in their countries, while all participating players will receive guaranteed remuneration for their achievements at the tournament,” said FIFA in a statement announcing the new distribution model.

“The initiative marks another concrete step taken by FIFA to develop women’s football and ensure players receive a fair deal, a commitment FIFA hopes sets a standard across the industry, from broadcasters to governments and beyond.”

For players with the U.S. women’s national team and other favorites like England, Australia, and Germany, professional wages and sponsorship opportunities mean these bonuses are welcome, but may not represent more money than they were already set to make this year.

However, for the majority of players on the majority of teams, even the smallest prize package ($30,000 to each player on a team eliminated in the group stage) will likely be the biggest windfall they’ve ever received from playing soccer. Even for someone making the NWSL minimum salary for 2023, which is $36,400, the smallest World Cup bonus would nearly double their wages for the year.

“FIFPRO is very pleased with the steps taken by FIFA in establishing this guaranteed player payment mechanism,” said David Aganzo, president of international players’ union FIFPRO. “The key behind the success of this model is that it is universally applied, and it is fair, which is what female footballers tell us they want above all else. We see this is as only the beginning of what will be a transformational journey for the women’s professional football landscape together with FIFA.”

Per-player prize money

Final Position Prize money
Group Stage $30,000
Round of 16 $60,000
Quarterfinal $90,000
Fourth place $165,000
Third place $180,000
Second place $195,000
Champion $270,000

Meanwhile, FIFA has raised the total prize pool given to the associations running the 32 national teams that qualified to a hair over $61 million, more than double the $30 million pool that was carved up between the 24 teams that played in the 2019 World Cup.

While that still leaves a gargantuan gap between what FIFA provides for the women’s World Cup as compared to the men’s (which got a $440 million pool in 2022) it does represent a substantial boost to the women’s game.

Participating Member Association prize money

Final Position Prize money
Group Stage $1,560,000
Round of 16 $1,870,000
Quarterfinal $2,180,000
Fourth place $2,455,000
Third place $2,610,000
Second place $3,015,000
Champion $4,290,000

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