Goal 8. Deliver the greatest FIFA Women’s World Cup™ ever in 2023 to help drive further development in women’s football

Delivering the greatest and most inclusive FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand was one of the first significant achievements of the FIFA President’s current mandate and the sizeable legacies from the first 32-team edition have been evident since.

Two billion people followed the action in July and August 2023, culminating in Spain winning the trophy for the first time and the broadened global appeal of the tournament was underlined by the significant growth in audience figures in Oceania, Africa and the Middle East, in particular.

Teams from every confederation won at least one match at the tournament and all eight first-time participants left a lasting impression on the field, but the impact continued to be felt long after the confetti had been cleared from the Stadium Australia pitch after Spain’s defeat of England in the final.

Through the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Club Benefits Programme, USD 11.3 million was distributed, contributing to over 1,000 clubs from 48 FIFA MAs, a significant rise on the 822 clubs from 39 MAs who shared the USD 8.48 million available from the previous edition. The increase was a key tenet of the total package for 2023 participants of USD 152 million and, crucially, recognised not only the clubs releasing the players to represent their countries in Australia and New Zealand but also those who contributed to each player’s development between the ages of 12 and 22.

Building on the success of a tournament that attracted 1.98 million spectators into the stadiums and set a new benchmark for women’s sport worldwide may seem an unenviable task, but we now know that mission lies with Brazil after they won a vote at the 74th FIFA Congress to stage the 2027 edition as the tournament heads to South America for the first time. Audiences in the United States and Puerto Rico already know that they can watch the action – as well as the 2031 edition – on Netflix after a historic agreement with FIFA was signed at the end of 2024. It brings financial and editorial value to all parties through women’s football documentaries in the build-up to both tournaments and unparalleled access to live action.

The inaugural FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup 2025™ was the Philippines’ first FIFA tournament as hosts, and the historic competition provided other landmarks: it was Tanzania's first-ever senior FIFA tournament and Iran's first FIFA women's tournament while Brazil defeated Portugal to become the maiden world champions.

“It’s a new era for women’s club football, and we started in style,” said Mr Infantino having watched Arsenal Women FC defeat SC Corinthians 3-2 after extra-time to win the first FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™. A competition bringing together the world’s six continental title winners, it will be held every year between the new FIFA Women’s Club World Cup™, whose first edition is scheduled for 2028.

Following on from a wide-ranging stakeholder consultation process, a player-centric approach was adopted for the Women’s International Match Calendar over this four-year period. It will provide more opportunities for rest and recovery for players throughout the calendar thanks to a reduction in the number of international match windows from six to five.

While tournaments remain key drivers of development, the structural foundations for growth through daily business have also been reinforced with one such example being the renewal and bolstering of the FIFA Women’s Development Programme. Now agreed until 2027, the programme is open to all 211 MAs to grow women’s football at national level, providing both funding and knowledge exchange as well as access to women’s football experts, additional equipment and technical support in line with the FIFA Women’s Football Strategy 2024-2027.

Thirteen programmes are now available to MAs after a December 2024 refresh added Global Benchmarking of Women’s Leagues, Elite Performance: Coach Mentorship, Elite Performance: Women’s National Team Preparation, Coach Education Scholarships (groups and individuals) and Commercial Strategy (as a pilot programme).

FIFA’s many and varied women’s football projects all work towards the organisation’s stated aim of having 60 million girls and women playing football across the globe by 2027, the year in which the tenth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup will be played.

As the objective from the previous Vision 2020-2023 aimed to accelerate the growth of women’s football, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 was a transformational event for the women’s game. The tournament comprised 32 teams competing for the ultimate prize. Additionally, given FIFA’s statutory objective to promote the development of women’s football and the full participation of women at all levels of football governance, the 2023-2027 cycle is primed to deliver on many fronts.