FIFA President Gianni Infantino outlines five proposals for future of women’s football

Noël Le Graët and Brigitte Henriques also give their views on France 2019 in press conference

Re-live the press conference in its entirety During the closing press conference for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, held by FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) ahead of the final two matches of the competition, FIFA President Gianni Infantino outlined five key proposals he wishes to put forward to the FIFA Council for the future development of women’s football. The entire press conference was streamed live on FIFA TV on YouTube with FIFA President Infantino joined by French Football Federation (FFF) and LOC President Noël Le Graët and FFF and LOC Vice-President Brigitte Henriques. A wide variety of subjects were discussed during the press conference, including the five proposals – which are as follows: The creation of a FIFA Club World Cup for women: starting as soon as possible The creation of a Women’s World League: a proposal put forward already in 2017, to be played in tournaments all over the world Expanding the FIFA Women’s World Cup from 24 to 32 teams, potentially already as of the 2023 edition. To double the prize money for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup. To double the investment committed to women’s football over the next four-year cycle, from USD 500m to USD 1 billion.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino On the tournament “This Women’s World Cup in France has been phenomenal, emotional, passionate, fantastic. The best Women’s World Cup ever. Something extraordinary happened here. It was all thanks to the French people that this Women’s World Cup became what it is, the best ever. That’s why there will be a before and after the Women’s World Cup 2019.” “Many people around the world have tuned in for the first time to watch a women’s football match and they saw that it is football. We have athletes playing football with physical, technical, tactical skills. What other event, other than the men’s World Cup, can unite 1 billion people around the world to come together like this?” On the future of women’s football “We need to do more to make sure that this gap [between Europe and other continents] doesn’t become bigger. We want to channel part of this investment into the grassroots of the game all over the world. We need to invest much more where there is no women’s football, rather than where the women’s game already exists.” On the use of VAR, for the first time at a Women’s World Cup “I’d like to congratulate Pierluigi Collina and all of his team because it wasn’t easy to take this gamble. I think it was a success. I’m delighted with this. The good news is that things can improve. Things are only going to get better because VAR is here to stay. Those that aren’t entirely convinced will be in due course.”

President of the FFF Noël Le Graët On the success of the tournament “We were able to show women’s football of the greatest quality. These kind of great events are really indispensable. They are a source of enrichment, around football. We’ve gotten so many good results. We need these kinds of important events, these kinds of championships. We need to alongside some of the clubs to promote women’s football. We need something different from men’s football.”