Just a few years ago, pre-season training for Stoke City's women sometimes included painting the dugout and removing litter from the pitch at a former working men's club in central England.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Spain's Queen Letizia with Spain's Salma Paralluelo as she collects her medal after winning the World Cup final REUTERS/Hannah MckayFIFA president Gianni Infantino and Spain's Queen Letizia with Spain's Salma Paralluelo as she collects her medal after winning the World Cup final REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
That professionalisation has underpinned the success of the ninth Women’s World Cup, which ended on Sunday with Spain beating England by a single goal in a final that pitted the two European countries with the strongest domestic leagues against each other. In broadcast rights, the women’s game has struggled to compete. The FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, threatened Europe’s “Big 5” nations with a TV World Cup blackout unless their broadcasters upped their offers.
“Women’s football domestically is still in start-up phase,” Lisa Parfitt, director of Women in Football and co-founder of sports marketing agency The Space Between, told Reuters of the game in general. “So it’s a matter of investing.”
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