March 16 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino will ask his Council on Friday in Bogota to approve a global women’s league that will strengthen the growth of the women’s game.
Infantino had previously promoted the idea, but will push for its implementation at the Council meeting, according to the New York Times. The FIFA president first spoke of a new women’s competition to complement the Women’s World Cup at the FIFA Congress in Bahrain. Investment in the women’s game was a key component of Infantino’s manifesto during his presidential election campaign.
“We are also thinking of creating a world women’s football league so that all federations can participate, because we should not lose sight of the fact that 50% of the world’s population is female,” said Infantino reportedly at a meeting in Mauritania last month.
The proposed competition would consist of 16 of the world’s best national teams, with the participants divided into four groups. The winners would face off in the last four, leading up to a final. The competition could begin as early November 2019.
FIFA had already expanded the format of the Women’s World Cup, with Canada hosting the first 24-team tournament in 2015, but the commercial and sporting implications of Infantino’s new proposal remain to be seen.
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