FIFA have announced that they have awarded the exclusive rights in Australia for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ to Optus Sport.
As part of the agreement, Optus will show all 64 matches of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, the biggest event in the international women’s game, on its Optus Sport platform in Australia.
One match per day, including the key matches of the tournament and all Matildas’ matches, will be made available nationwide with free access. The Optus coverage of the tournament will reach fans across all platforms with highlights, support programming and other digital content.
Optus Sport were a Media Rights Licensee (MRL) in Australia for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™ and will extend their coverage for the 2023 edition of the tournament. Women’s football is a core element of Optus Sport’s elite football offering and Optus aim to bring the sport to the widest possible audience in Australia.
Optus are one of the leading consumer brands in Australia through their telecommunications business with 11 million customers, which will provide a unique opportunity to engage with fans across Australia and promote the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™.
Sarai Bareman, Chief Women’s Football Officer, FIFA said: “FIFA are excited to welcome Optus Sport as our official broadcaster of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ for Australia. Optus have shown a strong commitment to broadcasting women’s football and this deal will provide unprecedented coverage in Australia for the tournament, as well as bringing women’s football to more fans and new audiences. We look forward to working with Optus to promote the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 to accelerate the growth of the women’s game in Australia in the lead up to 2023.”
Commenting on the tournament, Optus Chief Executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said: “We are delighted to not only support the most exciting women’s sporting event in the world, hosted right here on our home soil, but also to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to growing women’s sport in this country.”
The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ will take place from 20 July to 20 August 2023. Earlier this year, FIFA announced the 9 Host Cities and 10 stadiums in Australia and New Zealand where matches will be played during the tournament. Eden Park in Auckland will host the opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, with Stadium Australia in Sydney selected to host the Final.
Since the first edition in 1991, the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ have grown exponentially to claim the crown of the most-watched single-sport event for women globally with the most recent edition – France 2019 – attracting a record audience of over 1.1 billion viewers, and smashing domestic viewing figures in many territories.
Following the amazing success of the 2019 event, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ will also be the first edition of the tournament to feature 32 teams (previously 24) following the decision by FIFA to expand the tournament to accelerate the growth of the women’s game.
Through the sale of media rights for its football tournaments, FIFA generate income which is essential to support and develop football around the world, for instance through the FIFA Forward Football Development Programme.- www.fifa.com
