Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, criticised what he called unacceptable low bids for the broadcast rights to the 2023 Women's World Cup.
“A hundred times less (than the men’s World Cup), even more than 100 times in some occasions. This is not acceptable,” the head of the football governing body told a news conference.
Infantino did not give the names of the implicated media outlets or broadcasters, but claimed to be aware of them.
“We are not going to accept this,” Infantino said about the offers.
“We know that the viewing figures for these broadcasters in some big footballing countries for the men’s World Cup or for the Women’s World Cup are actually very similar…meaning their commercial income is very similar for men and for women,” he added.
The 2023 women’s World Cup will take place from July 20 to Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
Due to the time difference, many games will be played in night-time hours in key markets such as Europe and the Americas.