The 2019 Women’s World Cup Final will bring the world to a standstill.
Just look at the 2015 final, where 25.4 million viewers tuned into FOX to watch the USWNT defeat Japan, making it the most-watched soccer match in U.S. history.
And the numbers didn’t just apply to the realm of soccer — those viewership totals exceeded every game of the 2015 NBA Finals, Sunday Night Football, and the primetime average of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
The market is obviously there for women’s soccer; it’s just a matter of broadcasters actually committing to it.
And so it’s not shocking to learn that FIFA — in all its accustomed glory — has scheduled the World Cup final for July 7th, which is also the exact same date of the men’s Gold Cup final at Soldier Field and the men’s Copa America final in Rio de Janeiro. Brilliant!
That’s a kick to the teeth for women’s football.
Just take, for example, the Brazilian women’s team, who captivated their home nation so much more than the men at the 2016 Olympic Games.
They’ve just won their third-straight women’s Copa America, they’re ranked seventh in the world and could make a deep run in France — but if that’s the case and they contest the final on the same day that the men go after their first Copa America title since 2007 — and at the Maracanã, no less — you’re obviously not doing women’s football in South America any favors.
FIFA probably thinks it’s creating the ultimate feast of football on July 7th, but why create a Golden Corral buffet when the fine-dining experience of a World Cup final is the only thing necessary?
