There are some undeniable figures regarding the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand, which begins July 20 and runs through Aug. 20.

The expanded field of 32 teams is the largest in Women’s World Cup history, as is the number of players participating: 736.

FIFA said it has allocated $152 million including a record $110 million prize money plus preparation payments for the 32 teams and compensation paid to clubs.

FIFA said its total investment in the Women’s World Cup 2023 is budgeted to exceed $500 million, which includes numerous other elements such as marketing and the first Women’s World Cup Fan Fest.

Still, there are numbers less praiseworthy.

The first Women’s World Cup was in 1991, and until 2021, FIFA sold rights to the Women’s Cup as part of broadcast rights to the Men’s World Cup.

FIFA then said the rights to its women’s World Cups would be sold separately, with the 2023 Tournament the first under the new plan.

FIFA has fallen roughly $100 million short of its goal for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand broadcast rights fees, according to The Wall Street Journal.

FIFA sought to sign global broadcasting rights at “$300 million but it will instead settle for closer to $200 million.”

“Whereas broadcasters pay $100-$200 million for the men's FIFA World Cup, they offer only $1million-$10 million for the FIFA Women's World Cup,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said last month via the organization.

According to London-based research and analysis firm Omdia, the FIFA Women's World Cup is the most valuable women's competition globally in terms of media rights.

However, the broadcast media rights gap with men's competitions remains massive, not just in soccer, but across the board.

"FIFA caused a stir when it announced that the offers it had received for rights to the Women's World Cup were 1-2% of the value it had collected for the men's competition, but a quick glance at other leading leagues reveals that the problem is endemic,” Omdia senior data analyst Ed Ludlow said via the firm.

“As of 2023, Women's Tennis Association rights are only worth a third of the Association of Tennis Professionals; and the Women’s Super League is 0.2% of the value of the Premier League.

“The U.S. women's basketball league, the WNBA, is worth 58 times less than its equivalent male league, the NBA, which takes $3.1 billion annually for its media rights.”

According to Ludlow, “In recent years, women's sport has seen an uptick in television coverage, healthy attendances at live events, and growing sponsorship revenue. The next hurdle for women's leagues is securing media rights deals that rival men's sports."

Omdia said that women's sport can attract audiences that do not engage with men's events. “(Our) consumer research indicates that 22% of WNBA viewers do not watch the NBA in the U.S. and 12% of WSL viewers do not watch the Premier League in the U.K.”

FIFA has seen strong indications that the 2023 Women’s World Cup will have solid viewership.

Fox Sports, which has U.S. English broadcast rights,, said it has recorded strong ad sales for its upcoming Women’s World Cup coverage, selling out 90% of its inventory by June and 50% more than the 2019 tournament, according to Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks.

NBCU Telemundo, which has U.S. Spanish broadcast rights, recently unveiled a marketing roster that includes Ford, Volkswagen and Xfinity.

Telemundo said it would produce more than 550 hours of coverage around the Women’s World Cup across Telemundo, Peacock, Universo and Telemundo Deportes.

Fox Sports and Telemundo are anticipating strong viewer numbers as the U.S. Women’s National Team seeks its third consecutive Women’s World Cup title.

All 64 matches from the tournament will be broadcast in the U.K. on either the BBC or ITV, except for the Final, which will be shown across both BBC One and ITV1.

FIFA in June FIFA and the European Broadcasting Union have agreed to extend their existing media rights partnership, “ensuring that the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 (July 20-Aug. 20) will be broadcast on the EBU’s free-to-air linear TV network across 34 European territories.”

The deal also makes a “substantial additional commitment to the regular transmission of women’s football content beyond the tournament.”

Financial terms for the EBU pact were not disclosed.

Under the new purse tote;, $4.290 million will be awarded to the 2023 winning club vs. the $30 million total purse for the 2019 Women’s World Cup, when the U.S. champions took in $4 million total.

Total purse money at the FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup, also won by the U.S., was $15 million.

By comparison, total prize money awarded at the 32-team FIFA 2022 Men's World Cup in Qatar was $440 million.

“Under this unprecedented new distribution model, each individual player at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 can now fully rely on remuneration for their efforts as they progress through the Tournament,”  Infantino said via the organization.

“The captain that ultimately lifts the iconic FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy on Aug. 20 in Sydney will receive $270,000, as will each of her 22 teammates.”

FIFA has set a target of equal prize money for men and women at the next World Cups, the 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada; and the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with a host site to be named in 2024.

Per player, the World Cup champs will each get $270,000, runners-up $195,000, $180,000 for third place team players and $165,000 each for the fourth place squad.

Each player who enters the tournament will get at least $30,000

“The global salary of women’s professional footballers is approximately $14,000 (U.S.) annually, so the amounts allocated under this unprecedented new distribution model will have a real and meaningful impact on the lives and careers of these players,” said Infantino.

In March, stating that “Women’s football is continuing to grow and the sport is enjoying the greatest level of global interest in its history,” FIFA released the second edition of Setting the Pace: Benchmarking Report on Women’s Football.

The study was a “comprehensive analysis into the elite women’s football landscape globally” and charts the changes and developments that have occurred in elite women’s football since the first edition was released in May 2021.

The study analyzed 30 leagues and 294 clubs, with contributions from all six FIFA Confederations.

“The data in this year’s report underscores that organizations that are prepared to invest in women’s football are receiving a return, and we expect this will only increase as more clubs and leagues, as well as broadcasters and partners, truly recognize the unique growth opportunity that exists in women’s football,” Sarai Bareman, FIFA chief women’s football officer, said via the organization.

“FIFA continues to take proactive steps to accelerate the growth and development of women’s football globally, and it is our commitment to continue producing this report as we strive to assist clubs and leagues in their mission to professionalize their operations.”

FIFA’s Setting The Pace study followed a  study, 2022 Women In Sports Report from SponsorUnited, which shows, “In recent years, attendance, viewership and social engagement for women's sports and athletes has spiked, leading to long-overdue financial backing through investments and sponsorships that are visibly paying off and should only continue to accelerate."

According to the report, sponsorships grew 20% year-over-year across major women’s U.S. sports (LPGA, NWSL, WNBA, WTA),and top European soccer leagues (Women's Super League and Liga F).