The World Cup is an incredible event that brings the world together. The last FIFA football game is one of the greatest played. But still, there are improvements to be made. There are still gender equality issues and human rights issues. I’m here to suggest some improvements that could be made to the World Cup.
I think that the World Cup should make arrangements like promoting the men's and woman’s FIFA together, and for example, people really want to see Messi or Ronaldo play in the World Cup, but they don’t value the woman’s players as much. Stadiums would be full when the men are playing but would only be half-full when the woman play. Another arrangement would be to sell the woman’s jerseys more, so people will see them, and possibly become a fan, or at least have heard of the player. The last arrangement I will suggest is for the matches to be played right after each other and in the same country, and in the same stadium so people can attend both matches. FIFA still has some gender inequality issues, so my suggestions are right here, in this blog post. Right now, more people watch men's soccer, which makes the men get more money out of playing soccer. Ronaldo (Portuguese footballer) was making 62 million a year while Alex Morgan ( American Footballer )was making 450,000 in 2015.
Improvements
1. They should advertise the woman and men at the same time and on the same poster so they both would get equal attention. Most of the FIFA ads I have seen are for men's team players. Even when the woman’s World Cup is being played, I have not seen any jerseys being sold, no ads for the woman, and no restaurant/bar showing the game. This seems unfair as the men's team gets so much attention, they are put on every poster, every sportswear ad, and every magazine when FIFA is being played. This is even more unfair since last year, the U.S.A men's team didn’t even qualify for the cup, but the women won it a year later. Even in that time, I haven’t seen any ads with players such as Meghan Rapino, or Alex Morgan on it.
2. They should play the matches after each other in the same stadium very close together so that there will be more people attending after the matches. Right now, the woman’s FIFA is being hosted a year after the men, and in a different country. If they were played at the same time and in the same place, both teams would receive equal attention. If the tickets are sold with the package of both the men's and woman’s team tickets, people will see it and are more likely to buy it. People also tend to forget that woman’s FIFA even exists so if they are sold together, it can remind people and more people will attend the woman’s matches. Right now, the estimated amount of people watching the woman’s final of the World Cup is 25.4 million, while for the final of the men's World Cup is 5.4 billion. It would also be a good idea if the tickets had a discount, but only if people attended both matches.
3. Sell more woman’s jerseys so people will see it and look the person up on google and become a fan. If people walk into a soccer store to get a pair of shoes for example, if the woman’s jerseys are displayed on manikins and are on the front racks and in the front of the store, people are more likely to recognize the jersey and wonder who’s name on the back of the shirt belongs to. This will lead to people being fans of the player and being more supportive of women’s rights and teams in FIFA. Women's rights are not valued in some countries that even their best players moved to other countries because the other countries' teams valued the same woman's and men's teams the same.
The World Cup is an amazing event in the world, but it can have some improvements to make the games more fair and equal among the players. They should advertise the woman and men together so they would get equal attention, they should play the matches after each other in the same stadium so there will be more people attending after matches, and sell more woman’s jerseys in stores so people will see it and look the person up on google and become a fan. These are the improvements that I believe can make the World Cup a better, more peaceful activity.
A picture of me watching my favorite French football team, Olympique Lyonnais.
I love your ideas! It’s great to see a new perspective on the World Cup and I couldn’t agree more.
Ainsley - what I like about this post is you offer several suggestions that would all bring more awareness to women's futbol!
My personal favorite is #2 because you are bringing the game where the fans are. This is a key sales tactic used in a lot of industries and it's a great tactic for bringing more awareness to women's sports.
When the fields/courts are the same for men/women this is an easy solution! What if they did this for college/pro basketball as well?
Great ideas!
Aunt KK
I couldn't agree more! It was especially frustrating that when the U.S. Women's Team won the World Cup, they were still paid less than the Men's Team. They had to sue for equal pay. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/u-s-mens-and-womens-soccer-teams-formally-sign-equal-pay-agreements#:~:text=The%20lawsuit%20drew%20international%20attention,World%20Cup%20final%20in%20France.&text=In%20February%2C%20the%20two%20sides,pay%20the%20women%20%2424%20million.
I like your ideas Ainsley! Women are just as exciting to watch (if not more exciting), so bringing more awareness to Women's soccer (football) is a great idea!