Honestly, it’s about time. For decades, the global conversation around the FIFA World Cup for women felt like an afterthought to many casual fans, often buried under shoestring budgets and "participation trophy" vibes. But if you watched the 2023 tournament in Australia and New Zealand, you know that era is dead. It’s gone. We saw nearly 2 million fans in the stands and a level of technical play that made the old "gap" between men's and women's football look like a myth.
The game is faster now.
Tactics have evolved from simple long-ball strategies to complex, high-pressing systems that require elite athleticism. When Spain lifted the trophy after that 1-0 win over England, it wasn't just a victory for La Roja; it was a signal that the world had caught up to the standard formerly set by the United States. The 2023 edition proved that investment works. When you give players professional environments, they produce a product that people actually want to pay to see. It’s not charity anymore. It's high-stakes entertainment.
The Shocking Shift in Global Parity
Most people think the USWNT (United States Women's National Team) just had a "bad day" when they got knocked out in the Round of 16 in 2023. That's a lazy take. The reality is that the rest of the world stopped being scared. Nations like Jamaica, Morocco, and South Africa—teams that historically lacked the funding of the powerhouse federations—showed up with disciplined defensive blocks and terrifying counter-attacks.
The gap didn't just close; it collapsed.
In previous iterations of the FIFA World Cup for women, you could almost guarantee the scorelines of the group stages. You’d see 13-0 or 10-0 blowouts that, frankly, weren't great for the sport's image. Not anymore. Jamaica held France and Brazil to 0-0 draws. Think about that. A team that had to crowdfund their way to the tournament sent a legendary Brazilian squad packing. It's wild. This shift happened because European clubs like Barcelona, Lyon, and Arsenal started pouring resources into their women's setups, creating a pipeline of talent that plays "the right way" year-round.
Why 2027 Will Be the Real Litmus Test
Brazil is hosting the next one. This is huge. It’s the first time the tournament will be held in South America, and the pressure is going to be immense. If you think the atmosphere in Sydney was loud, wait until you see the Maracanã filled for a knockout match.
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The 2027 FIFA World Cup for women is expected to be the most lucrative one yet. FIFA has already signaled they want to move toward pay equity, or at least something resembling it, in the coming years. But there’s a catch. Broadcasters have to stop lowballing the rights. In 2023, there was a massive standoff between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and European broadcasters who offered pennies on the dollar compared to the men's tournament. Eventually, deals were struck, but the message was clear: the market is still catching up to the reality on the pitch.
Money, Politics, and the FIFA World Cup for Women
Let's get into the weeds of the business side because that’s where the real story lives. For a long time, the prize money was a joke. In 2019, the total pool was $30 million. By 2023, it jumped to $110 million. That sounds like a lot until you realize the men’s pool in Qatar was $440 million.
The math is slowly changing, though.
Sponsors like Visa and Adidas aren't just tagging women’s football onto their men’s contracts anymore. They are buying separate packages. This "unbundling" of rights is the secret sauce. It allows brands to target the specific demographic of women's sports fans, who, statistically, are more likely to support brands that support their teams.
- Viewership Stats: The 2023 final peaked at 12 million viewers on BBC One in the UK alone.
- Attendance: 75,784 fans packed Stadium Australia for multiple matches.
- Social Engagement: TikTok and Instagram reels of Skill moves and goals outperformed many mainstream sports during the same window.
You can't ignore these numbers. If you're a brand and you aren't looking at the FIFA World Cup for women as a premier marketing vehicle, you're basically leaving money on the table.
The Problem With Modern Coaching
One thing that doesn't get talked about enough is the lack of female coaches at the top level. Despite the growth of the tournament, a significant portion of the teams are still led by men. Sarina Wiegman, the England manager, is a rare exception who has reached consecutive finals with different nations. She’s a tactical genius. Her ability to pivot mid-game is why England stayed in matches they probably should have lost. We need more of that. The infrastructure for training female coaches is still lagging behind the infrastructure for training players. It's a bottleneck that the sport needs to solve before 2027.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the History
People love to act like women's football started in the 90s with Brandi Chastain’s iconic penalty kick.
Wrong.
The first (unofficial) women's world cups were happening in the 70s. The 1971 tournament in Mexico had crowds of over 100,000 people. Let that sink in. The sport was massive, but then various football associations—including the FA in England—literally banned women from playing on their pitches for decades. They claimed it was "unsuitable" for women. Really, they were just threatened by its popularity. We aren't seeing the "birth" of a sport; we are seeing a recovery. We are finally getting back to the momentum that was stolen fifty years ago.
Tactical Evolutions You Should Watch For
If you want to sound smart at a watch party, look at the transition play. In the early days of the FIFA World Cup for women, teams relied on one or two superstars—think Mia Hamm or Marta—to carry the whole load. Now, it’s about the "double pivot" in midfield and "inverted wingers."
Spain won in 2023 because they played a possession-based game that suffocated opponents. They didn't care if they weren't the fastest or strongest; they just didn't give the ball away. This "tiki-taka" style is hard to pull off. It requires every player on the pitch to have a high football IQ. We're seeing more teams adopt this, moving away from the "kick and run" style that dominated the 2000s.
The ACL Crisis
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. Injuries. Specifically, Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears.
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Going into the last world cup, several of the world's best players—Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema, Marie-Antoinette Katoto—were all out with the same injury. Studies suggest women are significantly more likely to suffer ACL tears than men, partly due to biomechanics but largely due to poor research into women-specific footwear and training loads. If the FIFA World Cup for women is going to keep growing, the medical side of the game has to catch up. We can't have a tournament where 20% of the superstars are watching from the couch.
Actionable Steps for the Modern Fan
If you actually want to support the growth of the game and get the most out of the next tournament cycle, don't just wait for the World Cup to roll around every four years.
Follow the Domestic Leagues
The quality of the World Cup is a direct result of the WSL (England), Liga F (Spain), and the NWSL (USA). If you aren't watching the weekly matches, you're missing the character development and the tactical shifts that define the international stage.
Demand Better Merch
It sounds silly, but for years, you couldn't even buy a goalkeeper jersey for the women's teams. Nike faced a massive backlash over this in 2023. Use your voice on social media. Demand that retailers carry the same range of gear for women’s teams as they do for men’s.
Look at the Data
Stop listening to pundits who don't actually watch the games. Follow analysts who use xG (Expected Goals) and heat maps specifically for the women's game. The metrics often show a different story than the "eye test" from someone who hasn't watched a match since 1999.
The FIFA World Cup for women is no longer a developmental project. It is a powerhouse. It's a cultural moment that shifts how we view female athletes and how we value their labor. The road to 2027 in Brazil is already underway, and if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that betting against this tournament is a losing move.
The world is watching. Finally.
Next Steps for Deepening Your Knowledge:
- Research the 2027 host cities in Brazil to understand how the travel and altitude might affect team stamina.
- Monitor the UEFA Women's Nations League results, as these serve as the primary indicator for which European teams will dominate the next World Cup cycle.
- Audit your local sports streaming packages to ensure you have access to international friendlies, which are the only way to see how emerging teams like Colombia or Nigeria are refining their tactics between major tournaments.