The most important thing about the World Cup in July

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It’s a month later: the ninth FIFA Women’s World Cup in history is approaching. At the other end of the world, football is played almost every day over the course of a month – a total of 64 matches are played. In the run-up, one asks oneself: Who can prevent the successful Americans from their fifth title? How will the Swiss women fare?

Swiss midfielder and captain Lea Valte in conversation with Sandy Mendley, Eusa Aybogon and Rahel Kiewicz. Photo: Cornerstone

So that you have a say from the start – and that you can look forward to one of sporting’s biggest events of the year: here you can find out the most important things about the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

When will the World Cup take place?

The Women’s World Cup starts in less than a month Thursday 20 July. Departure time is 9 am Switzerland time. Hosts New Zealand will play Norway. At 12 noon the same day, the second host nation, Australia, will play Ireland.

The final will take place after a good four weeks Sunday August 20th at 12 noon instead of.

What time do you play the game?

The starting times are very different from what they were at the Men’s World Cup in Qatar.

Possible early matches start at 2am (although this is only one match: Argentina v South Africa), and the latest at 2.30pm (also only one match: Panama v Jamaica).

On the other hand, the majority of matches kick off between 9 am and 12 noon.

By the way, you can find the full schedule of the Women’s World Cup matches here.

When does the Swiss play?

The Swiss national team before a friendly match against China in Lucerne in April 2023. Photo: Cornerstone

It was around Captain Lea that the Swiss team was able to qualify for the 2023 World Cup in the extreme. In New Zealand and Australia they play in Group A with hosts New Zealand, Norway and the Philippines. The following matches in Switzerland in the group stage are already known:

How many teams are there?

In 2023, 32 teams will participate in the World Cup finals for the first time – the same number for men. It was decided in 2019, just four years after the number of teams was increased from 16 to 24. The Round of 16 was not played in the Women’s World Cup until the 2015 World Cup.

How much is the prize worth?

Also new for 2023 are significantly higher prize money. FIFA President Gianni Infantino spoke in favor of this in 2019 after the last World Cup. In total, the Women’s World Cup will receive 150 million US dollarswith approximately $110 million in prize money for the teams, $31 million for preparation and $11 million for club benefits.

The total number of 150 million is a 300 percent increase from 2019, but it’s still only about a third of the 440 million men got in Qatar in 2022. FIFA has stated that by 2027, they aim to achieve parity in the men’s and women’s leagues.

In which cities is it being played?

Australia (five cities) and New Zealand (four cities) will co-host the 2023 World Cup. The ten stadiums hosting matches in July and August are located in the following cities:

What countries participate in the World Cup?

Of the 32 teams, 12 are from Europe, six each from North, Central America and the Caribbean, from Asia, four from Africa, three from South America and one from Oceania.

The following teams will start in the eight groups:

Group A:

Group B:

Group C:

Group D:

Group E:

Sixth group:

Group G:

Group H:

Who are the previous World Cup winners?

The winner is the United States’ clear record four World Cup titles. The Americans won the World Cup for the first time in 1991, and in 1999, 2005 and most recently in 2019.

The senior star of the US national team, Megan Rapinoe, lifts the trophy after winning the 2019 World Cup Final between the United States and the Netherlands at the Stade Lyon in France, July 7, 2019.Photo: Cornerstone

They are followed by German women with two titles (2003 and 2007), Norway (1995) and Japan (2015) with one title each.

Where can I watch the Women’s World Cup on TV?

It was already clear in 2022 that SRF broadcasts all World Cup matches live. In addition, one match a day was commented on by Real Madrid’s budding commentator Calvin Stettler and football expert Rachel Reinast, who announced her retirement from the Swiss national team a few months ago.

What about TV rights and FIFA again?

On the other hand, in other European countries it has not been clear for a long time what will happen to the World Cup matches on TV. The aggressive poker game for TV rights between FIFA and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which also includes German broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF, was finally brought to an end in mid-June thanks to an agreement.

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Gianni Infantino has been accused of wanting to bring more money to FIFA under the guise of equality. Photo: Cornerstone

The background was a dispute over broadcast rights payments. Because the rights to televise women’s games were not awarded with the men’s for the first time, they had to be renegotiated. FIFA president Gianni Infantino complained that offers from European television stations were too low and threatened a “blackout”, i.e. refusal of the rights to show the World Cup on free-to-air television.

While broadcasters cited unfavorable times for the games due to the time difference, Infantino and FIFA were accused of wanting to generate more income in the name of equality. Allegedly, the FIFA demanded around ten million euros, At the same time, broadcasters were only willing to pay about half of that.

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