Why is FIFA so entrenched?, Approaching the Women's World Cup: Chinese women's football national team receives a prize of 30000 US dollars per person as a starting player | World Cup | Bonus
Editor's note: On July 20th, 2023, the FIFA Women's World Cup will be held in Australia and New Zealand. The Chinese women's football team will debut against Denmark in the group stage on the 22nd, followed by matches against Haiti and England. This Chinese women's football team has a strong "Shanghai color": head coach Shui Qingxia has long coached the Shanghai women's football team, and five international players including Zhang Xin, Zhu Yu, Wang Linlin, Tang Jiali, and Xiao Yuyi are from the Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank women's football team. In addition, overseas Chinese players Yang Lina and Shen Mengyu are also trained by Shanghai.
On the occasion of the "Steel Rose" competing in the World Cup, the Liberation Daily's Shangguan News City Channel and the School of Journalism and Communication at Shanghai Sport University jointly launched the "Approaching the Women's Football World Cup" column, approaching the women's football World Cup with 32 participating teams for the first time, exploring the strength of Shanghai in the "Steel Rose", witnessing the spirit of women's football soldiers facing world strong teams, and experiencing the development trends and latest trends of global women's football.
Money is not everything, but in the world of sports, there must be brave men under heavy rewards. The bonus distribution plan for the 2023 Women's World Cup has recently been announced, with a total amount of 152 million US dollars. FIFA will directly distribute at least $30000 in bonuses to each participating player, an unprecedented and bold move in the history of the Women's World Cup.
New guarantee: no middleman price difference
Unlike the previous method of distributing bonuses to players through the national and regional football associations of participating teams, players from each team participating in this World Cup can directly receive performance bonuses from FIFA.
FIFA does not engage in a big pot of rice, but distributes according to the team's ranking according to their work. The total prize money for the 2023 Women's World Cup is about 152 million US dollars, more than three times that of the 2019 Women's World Cup. As long as the participating players are selected for the roster, regardless of whether they play or not, each person can earn at least $30000, which is a guaranteed income.
According to the principle of more work, more pay, the top 16 teams can receive a bonus of $60000 per player, and the top 8 teams can receive a bonus of $90000 per player. The team that enters the top 4 will play a total of 7 games, with player bonuses of $270000 per player for the champion team, $195000 per player for the runner up team, $180000 per player for the third place team, and $165000 per player for the fourth place team.
FIFA not only generously increased the performance bonuses of each participating team, but also provided $11 million in direct compensation to the clubs that provided players for the Women's World Cup. This number is nearly three times higher than the 3 million euros given to clubs in the 2019 Women's World Cup.
Considering that the current average annual salary of professional female football players worldwide is about $14000, under the unprecedented new distribution model, the high bonuses of this Women's World Cup will have a meaningful impact on the lives and career of female football players.
New Potential Energy: Everyone Picks Firewood, Flames Rise High
In the past four years, women's football has made significant progress globally, with the number of participating teams in the World Cup increasing from 24 to 32, which is clearly a contributing factor. From the current box office, it is highly likely that this year's Women's World Cup will reach a new high in revenue.
On the one hand, the fans are awesome. Although this World Cup has not yet started, the market is booming. According to statistics, approximately 1.12 billion viewers watched the 2019 French Women's World Cup live, an increase of 30% compared to the 2015 Canadian Women's World Cup. The total number of spectators for the 52 matches of the 2019 French Women's World Cup reached 1.13 million. The 2023 Women's World Cup has expanded to 32 teams, and just over a month before the start of the tournament, ticket pre-sales had already exceeded 1 million. It is expected that the final ticket revenue will be more substantial than the previous one.
On the other hand, sponsors favor it. As the influence of women's football gradually expands globally, it has also gained more support from sponsors. According to incomplete statistics, the Chinese women's football team currently has 17 sponsors, including some luxury brands. These brand sponsorships bring real gold, silver, and commercial value of nearly 90 million yuan per year.
New challenge: The broadcasting revenue is a bit low
Generally speaking, the television broadcasting rights of sports events are the main source of revenue, including the Olympics, World Cup, and even the Premier League. For the first time, the 2023 Women's World Cup will adopt the form of selling broadcasting rights separately, but the price of broadcasting rights for the Women's World Cup cannot be compared to that of the Men's World Cup. In early May this year, FIFA President Ivano publicly stated that European broadcasters offered only 1% of the men's football bid for the rights to broadcast the Women's World Cup. From another perspective, the Women's World Cup has great commercial potential.
In the football world, it is common for women's football broadcasting rights to have lower income than men's professional football leagues. One of the most successful professional football leagues, the English Premier League, has done a good job in selling broadcasting rights, and the value of broadcasting rights is constantly refreshing. The bottom ranked Norwich Albion team in the 2022-2023 season also earned over £ 100 million in single season Premier League broadcasting revenue. In contrast, the English Women's Football Premier League has only £ 8 million in broadcast revenue for a single season.
Under market economy conditions, broadcasting revenue is a manifestation of commercial value. On the one hand, FIFA calls on society to care about women's football through the World Cup; On the other hand, FIFA, the World Cup organizing committee, and women's football players should carefully organize matches to improve the quality and viewing experience of the matches. Only in the long run can a virtuous cycle be formed.
