FIFA-WTO study shows economic impact of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023

Women's football has grown exponentially in the last few years, triggering a significant shift in global sports consumption with the rise of world-class women players leading to increased media coverage, rapid commercialisation and heightened engagement in all corners of the globe. This growth was clearly visible at the ninth edition of the tournament last year which broke numerous records with a worldwide audience of 2 billion and 1.98 million spectators across the 10 stadiums.

“We had eight debutants and many countries around the world who suddenly realised they had a chance to participate at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ because we decided to expand the competition,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “The tournament transformed the face of women's football, appealing to governments, member associations, broadcasters and media alike. And, as this study shows, it generated significant outcomes for global and local people and economies.”

“Football and major events like the FIFA Women’s World Cup can stimulate trade and investment and create sustainable economic opportunities,” said WTO Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “The WTO is very pleased to participate in this exploratory work and is hopeful that the findings can lead to more internal policy discussions on how sports and football, as a sector, can also be used as a developmental tool.”

The GoalEconomy report, developed by OpenEconomics — a body that supports institutions and companies in designing investment policies and projects — is the latest example of the collaboration between FIFA and the WTO since they signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in September 2022 to explore how best to use football to promote economic inclusion.

One section of the report, ‘The Development Goal’, notes the economic impact of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 itself. It breaks down the expenditures of USD 640 million — including FIFA’s record USD 499 million investment in addition to infrastructure investment and tourist spending — and shows how they ripple through various sectors of the global economy.

One of the key findings is that the tournament contributed almost USD 1.9 billion to global gross domestic product, created 38,204 jobs and added USD 932 million to household incomes.

The study breaks down and explains the main economic impacts into direct, indirect and induced impacts and graphics show the trade flows across sectors resulting from the tournament, as well as trade between the host countries and the rest of the world.

It also explains how the economic impact contributes to women’s empowerment, as more of the extra jobs are in female-intensive sectors. Finally, it gives an idea of the tournament’s impact on women’s football in Australia — with increases in club memberships, registered children, stadium attendances and female participation in schools evidenced following the staging of the first FIFA Women’s World Cup  in the southern hemisphere.

Another section of the report, titled ‘The Long Journey of Women's Football’, shows in numbers how women's football has grown, with increased viewing figures, prize money and a growing transfer market.

For example, the number of women and girls playing organised football has risen by 24 per cent since 2019 to 16.6 million, while the analysis also describes women's development programmes to show how the growth of the game has empowered women and illustrates the digital footprint of the top players.

Background

In September 2022 the WTO and FIFA agreed to work together to examine how international trade and football can serve as catalysts for economic growth and social inclusion. The collaboration seeks to foster synergies in relation to the economic dimension of sport and empowerment, especially for least-developed countries (LDCs) and women. Cooperation within the context of the WTO’s cotton programme is also a central element of the agreement.  More information is available here.

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