With the FIFA Women’s World Cup set to get underway in Australia and New Zealand this week, iGaming Daily, sponsored by SBC Summit Barcelona, thought today’s podcast would be the perfect place to talk all things soccer down under.

Joining host Joe Streeter, Editor of Insider Sport, was SBC’s Head of B2B LatAm, Lucía Mouriño, as well as Dean Akinjobi, CEO and Founder of Football Media and Christina Thakor-Rankin, Principal Consultant at 1710 Gaming, as they delve into the 2023 tournament, the importance of broadcasting rights for the World Cup, commercial opportunities for players and converting fan engagement on a domestic level.

The group excitedly kicked off the podcast with discussions surrounding The Women’s World Cup and how it has captured the imagination of wider football audiences.

“I’m very excited. Women’s football has been growing a lot in the past few years, especially after the 2019 tournament, so I’m excited to see what’s gonna happen this time,” stated Mouriño.

Thakor-Rankin added: “I think It’s going to be better than the mens. Women’s sports has been growing exponentially over the last few years and Womens soccer in particular has really started to capture the imagination. I think we’re in for a really interesting World Cup. We’ve got teams in the women’s game who are actually better than the men’s equivalent back home.”

“From a personal point of view here at Football Media, we’ve been supporting women’s football from prior to 2019, and we’ve just seen the growth curve happen both from the commercial side and the growth of the game as a whole,” mentioned Akinjobi.

The group then discussed the inequalities in the pay gap between men’s and women’s soccer.

“I think soccer is no different to other sports. We’ve had a similar argument in tennis. Similarly, cricket, rugby, every sport is kinda having these conversations.I think we’re in a much better place than we were, but there’s a lot more work to do. It’s not just prize money, it’s equal facilities, equal pay,  and merchandising,” stated Thakor-Rankin.

“I think the time to level the playing field was decades ago. It’s the same sport. The women trained the same, if not harder than the men to make it to the World Cup. Considering that most professional players need another source of income to make a living,” added Mouriño

Akinjobi expanded: “You have to look at what Women’s football is doing, I think that women’s football is the most amazing sport, but then it stands for more than just a sport. It stands for inspiring the next generation, equality and diversity.” 

“The men’s game simply doesn’t need that money like the women’s game does,” concluded Streeter.

The group continued with discussions around broadcasting and the importance of having the women’s world cup on mainstream television.

Thakor-Rankin: “You can see the power of being able to watch the games live and engage in that excitement on something as simple as when you watched the England, Germany final and England player (Chloe Kelly) took a shirt off and was wearing a Nike sports bra, and searches for Nike sports bras shot through the roof.”

“It makes it accessible to people whom it might not otherwise be accessible to. I think it’s going to be the biggest women’s sporting event this century, I think it’s really crucial that they’re on mainstream TV,” stated Akinjobi.

The group wrapped up the podcast by predicting who they think will come out on top in the women’s FIFA World Cup tournament 2023.

To read more on the topics discussed in today’s episode, click on the following links:
https://insidersport.com/2023/07/19/us-soccer-agrees-to-extend-visa-partnership/

https://insidersport.com/2023/07/04/fa-decision-not-to-pay-bonuses-to-lionesses-a-clear-step-backwards/
https://insidersport.com/2023/07/18/fifa-womens-world-cup-short-on-tv-righ/