Infantino, FIFA interest in women’s soccer feels like an act

In less than six months, FIFA will finally grant the hosting rights for the 2027 Women's World Cup. Now that South Africa has withdrawn from the list of candidates, only three potential hosts remain. December 8, joint offers from the United States and Mexico; Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands; and a solo effort by Brazil, were made official for the vote of FIFA member countries on May 17, 2024.

In other words, the host of the next Women's World Cup will only be known three years before the tournament kicks off.

If you have been paying attention, you will have noticed that the men's World Cups are already organized until 2034. The 2026 edition, which will take place jointly in the United States, Mexico and Canada, was awarded on April 10 . 2017 – nine years before the first game. Saudi Arabia, the presumed host country in 2034 (we'll come back to that), has 11 years of lead time, which is almost equivalent to Qatar's dozen years from its 2010 award to the 2022 World Cup.

Yet the 2023 Women's World Cup, like the next edition, was not awarded to Australia and New Zealand until June 25, 2020 – again, three years later. The discrepancy is particularly stark when considering the efforts to steer upcoming men's World Cups to the desired hosts. In recent weeks, the host country for the 2030 World Cup was officially announced – and the host country for 2034, unofficially – without a real vote taking place by FIFA's 211 member associations.

On October 4, to the surprise of some of its own member associations, FIFA announced that its 2030 edition would be reserved for… everyone. It would take place in Spain, Portugal and Morocco and also, initially, in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Apparently, this is to celebrate the centenary of the World Cup since its first edition in Uruguay. A vote to award the tournament was scheduled for 2024, but when the two groups of potential co-hosts reached a compromise, only one approved bidder remained and the deal was completed.

This mega-World Cup, spread across three continents, left only Asia and Oceania eligible to host the 2034 edition due to FIFA's rotation system, which prevents continents from hosting the tournament more than once every three editions. FIFA had initially planned to award the 2034 World Cup in 2028, before bringing the process forward to 2027 and then 2024. has brought forward its deadline to formally express interest and provide all kinds of government assurances, in just a few weeks. When the October 31 deadline passed, only Saudi Arabia had met it.

“Saudi Arabia is a strong bid, they have a lot of resources,” Football Australia CEO James Johnson said after his federation became the latest rival to the Saudis to withdraw from the race. “Their government, from the top down, prioritizes investment in football and it’s hard to compete with that.”

With no alternative, Saudi Arabia was unofficially awarded the next World Cup by default, just 27 days after the 2030 World Cup was awarded. This was confirmed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino himself- even, when he wrote on Instagram that the 25th edition of the tournament would be held in Saudi Arabia. If the Instagram post was a gaffe, Infantino didn't bother to correct it. “The bidding processes were approved by consensus via the FIFA Council – where all six confederations are represented – after constructive dialogue and extensive consultations,” Infantino wrote in the caption.

Infantino spent three years running the 2034 edition in Saudi Arabia, according to a New York Times article. The Petrostate has invested money in the sport, spending lavishly on its little-watched domestic league and signing deals with many FIFA member federations to fund various “projects”. Saudi Arabia has now doled out more than 300 sports sponsorships, according to the Danish Institute for Sports Studies, and its de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, openly admits that his government “will continue to practice sports washing.”

All this time, there wasn't as much urgency to orchestrate the chain of custody for the Women's World Cup.

There is a certain irony in FIFA's fixation on its men's World Cup and safeguarding its considerable revenue when you consider that there could be far more untapped upside in the women's tournament. Despite a very short deadline, the 2023 Women's World Cup broke even, with $570 million in revenue, even though FIFA only sold TV rights in several territories at the last minute. Imagine if it had enjoyed the same kind of commercial runway as the men's tournament – or even half as much. By delaying the selection of the 2027 host to 2024, FIFA is undoubtedly harming its own leverage to fully monetize the next edition.

“This FIFA Women's World Cup has been truly transformational, not just in Australia and New Zealand, but all over the world,” Infantino proclaimed after the tournament concluded in Australia and New Zealand. “In the host countries, we had almost two million spectators in the stadiums – full houses everywhere – and two billion spectators around the world. And not just watching their own country, but also watching the World Cup , because it is an event. [where] I don't just look at my team. It’s a great sport, it’s fun and people love it.”

Before the final, he even encouraged the women's team to demand more. “I tell all women: You have the power to change,” Infantino said. “Choose the right battles. Pick the right fights. Just keep pushing, keep the momentum, keep dreaming and let's really aim for full equality. Not just equal pay in the World Cup.”

Yet when he returned to organizing future World Cups, his attention shifted to the long-term men's edition, rather than building the women's financial apparatus as the project suggested.

When Infantino was elected chairman of the embattled board as a candidate for change in 2016, he rose to power on an agenda of reform and transparency. Shortly afterwards, he told a women's football conference that “women's football does not need charity, we need to focus on ensuring that revenues increase to ensure its growth…and that 'he can be self-sufficient'.

But even though Infantino has reformed FIFA, the effects on World Cup bids are only being felt on the men's side. FIFA's old voting system for men's World Cup organizers was problematic when it came to member countries voting secretly, but it was at least surrounded by a semi-public process. Deadlines were met and not revised; numerous visits were made to check the suitability of the competing hosts. Once all tender documents and elements have been reviewed, the winner would be announced publicly, on television, to a room full of bidders and stakeholders, rather than soft-launching it on Instagram.

“They promised a much higher degree of transparency about how the auction was going to happen,” Miguel Maduro, the former FIFA governance chief who was ousted by the Infantino regime in 2017, told Sky Sports. “We haven't seen anything like that in this process. Basically, it's something that was concocted internally, within what I usually call the political cartel that dominates FIFA.” He added: “It actually set back the reform process that they had started.”

Infantino created a system that allows him to award World Cups without having to hold elections. Meanwhile, the Women's World Cup remains reliant on the same old system. And while it is more transparent and democratic than the men's camp, it also reveals, in a perverse way, where Infantino's priorities lie.