The FIFA Women’s World Cup is set to begin on 20th July in Australia and New Zealand. There has been a lot of criticism towards the organisers of the tournament as broadcasting TV rights had still not managed to strike a deal.
BBC and ITV have come together to broadcast the games in the UK on free-to-air TV. The deal is set to be around £9 million, with broadcasters set the split the matches between them with live audio commentary available on BBC 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra, and additional coverage on ITV1, ITV4, and ITVX. The final will be shown on both BBC One and ITV1.
Barbara Slater, Director of BBC Sport, said: “We have shown every Women’s World Cup on the BBC since 1999 and we are happy to extend our partnership with Fifa for the upcoming tournament.”
Director of Sport at ITV Niall Sloane added: “We’re delighted to be able to bring comprehensive coverage of the Women’s World Cup, free to air to our audiences with both live and highlights broadcasts across ITV and ITVX.”
The importance of this year’s edition of the Women’s World Cup competition has been highlighted by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who described the updated relations between the football body and the EBU as “a huge promotional and exposure opportunity for women’s football, which is a top priority for us in line with Fifa’s commitment to long-term development of the sport.”
England Lionesses play their face game on 22nd July against Haiti in the group section.
