The countdown is on for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 to commence in Australia and New Zealand. It is set to be a landmark moment for women’s football with it expected to be the most attended standalone women’s sporting event in history.[1]
From 10 years ago at the 2012 Olympic Games to this month’s FIFA World Cup, the game has made great strides. 70,000 fans streamed in to watch Team GB take on Brazil in the London Olympics to result in what was then Britain’s biggest ever women’s football match.[2] Now more than one million tickets have already been sold for this year’s FIFA Women’s World cup.[3]
We look at some of the recent legal issues that have arisen in women’s football leading up to the Women’s FIFA World Cup 2023. These issues include the pay gap, media attention and ambush marketing.
The Pay Gap
Although the 2012 Olympic Games was a turning point for the game, The Women’s Super League (WSL) had yet to become fully professional and many players then still had daytime employment. Ten years later, the WSL has now became a completely full-time, professional league which in itself exemplifies the major progress that the women’s game has experienced. There are however still clear disparities between the women and men’s league. One major disparity is the difference in pay for women and men. There has been a great effort from those involved in the women’s football community, from players to staff, in arguing for better pay for the women players. In the lead up to the FIFA World Cup many national teams, such as the USA, Northern Ireland, South Africa and our very own national team have sought legal recourse over equal pay.
Some of the Scotland players contributed to a recent BBC article stating that equal pay will promote equality for women and girls in football. Fraser Wishart, Professional Football Association Scotland Chief Executive stated:
“Should female players playing for the Scottish national team get the same as male players playing for the Scottish national team? We believe that in law they should and that is something that will be debated at the employment tribunal."
The determination across the world to secure equal pay in women’s football has allowed us to now see some results. In 2022, US women's national team secured a pay-out of more than £17m.[4] On top of this, the Football Association of Ireland now pays the same match appearance fee to its male and female players.[5] With the Women’s World Cup on the cards combined with the motivation by those involved the football community to make positive change puts women’s football on an upward trajectory.
Media Attention
Despite, so far at least, not having quite the same build-up as the men’s World Cup last year, public appetite appears to be huge. Financial investment, professionalisation of the game and increased media attention have played a crucial part in raising awareness of the women’s game. During previous women’s World Cups, broadcasters gained broadcasting rights through “packages” when purchasing access to the men’s World Cup. For the first time FIFA called bids for this year’s tournament as a separate entity.[6] FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, had threatened to refuse television coverage after what he believed to be exceptionally low bids in comparison to men’s tournaments.[7] Broadcasters did finally reach a deal with FIFA and threats of a tournament blackout were circumvented. This situation highlighted that women’s football still faces barriers within the football community. FIFA’s stance to seek higher bids for broadcasting rights in the first place was well taken. Had there been media blackout this would have had a major impact on the women’s game which is reliant on major tournaments for raising awareness and interest in the game and generating revenue for it.
Ambush Marketing
In terms of investors, we will see a rush in marketing activities associated with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Industries will want to be associated with one of this major event on the sporting calendar, lawfully or unlawfully.[8] Ambush marketing is where entities attempt to gain brand recognition and deceive the public into thinking that they are an official sponsor without paying the associated sponsorship fees.[9] Ambush marketing has always been a feature of previous World Cup tournaments and is likely to be of concern to the organisers of the upcoming World Cup. An example of ambush marketing occurred at the 2010 tournament where the Dutch brewers, Bavaria, had 36 female models all wearing Bavaria branded dresses appeared at the Netherland’s game against Denmark which resulted in arrests being made.[10] Ambush marketing whether on a large or small scale exists and will be something to look out for, particularly for official sponsors/rights holders of this Women’s World Cup. It could be argues that more awareness needs raised as to the legal controls that exist to prevent it.
The FIFA’s Women World Cup 2023 highlights a significant milestone for the women’s game. Although there is still a gap in pay between male and female footballers, the positive attitudes and efforts involved in trying to change this emphasises a real desire for the women’s football to expand and progress. On this note, former England international Karen Carney has led the review of women’s football in England and highlights that this is an exciting time for the development of the women’s game. This review will be something to look out for.[11] In terms of media attention and marketing, it is exciting to see that there are ongoing discussions about media exposure and marketing and how to use these mechanism in the best way possible to develop awareness of the game.
It is a very exciting time for the sport and it will be interesting to see the impact of the application of law to its development.
From the Women football enthusiasts of Miller Samuel Hill Brown,
Tessa and Siobhan!
[1] Ten years that changed the face of women’s football | Women's Euro 2022 | The Guardian
[2] Ten years that changed the face of women’s football | Women's Euro 2022 | The Guardian
[3] Ten years that changed the face of women’s football | Women's Euro 2022 | The Guardian
[4] Scotland women's team make legal challenge to SFA over pay and conditions - BBC Sport
[5] Scotland women's team make legal challenge to SFA over pay and conditions - BBC Sport
[6] Threat of Women’s World Cup blackout averted after terrestrial TV deal agreed | Women's World Cup 2023 | The Guardian
[7] Threat of Women’s World Cup blackout averted after terrestrial TV deal agreed | Women's World Cup 2023 | The Guardian
[8] Ambush marketing & the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: What Brands Need to Know - LawInSport
[9] Ambush marketing & the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: What Brands Need to Know - LawInSport
[10] Ambush marketing & the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: What Brands Need to Know - LawInSport
[11] FA Statement on Karen Carney MBE's review of women's football (thefa.com)
