Foot: "More than a question of money", Popp challenges Infantino on his management of TV rights for the World Cup

“We have the impression that it is only a question of money” for the president of Fifa Gianni Infantino, regretted Friday the German Alexandra Popp in an interview with the agency SID, while the call of offers for the broadcast of the 2023 World Cup has still not been successful in several European countries.

“I’ll put it nicely. Dear Mr. Infantino, we have the impression that it is only a question of money, and who is the most powerful in the world”, regretted the German international center-forward Alexandra Popp, in an interview granted to the German sports news agency SID, a subsidiary of AFP.

“That shouldn’t be the case. Because in this way, the sport that we all love and appreciate is damaged. The duty falls to Fifa but also to the broadcasters, ”she added.

In Germany, as in France, Italy, Spain or the United Kingdom, the call for tenders launched by Fifa for the broadcasting of the Mondial-2023 (July 20-August 20) in Australia and New Zealand, has so far failed “for lack of offers that recognize the biggest women’s football tournament in the world at its true value”, estimated Fifa.

“To be perfectly clear, we consider our refusal to sell off the Women’s World Cup to be a moral and legal obligation,” Fifa President Gianni Infantino insisted on Monday at a World Trade Organization roundtable. .

“Obviously, we are aware that we are going to play on the other side of the world, in a completely different time zone. But I think that if we’re honest with us, we don’t need to think too much about the broadcasts, ”insisted the Wolfsburg striker, who will play the Champions League final on June 3 in Eindhoven ( Netherlands) against FC Barcelona.

“We should try to find a consensus, instead of passing the blame and letting greed do the talking,” added Popp, vice-champion of Europe last year.

The final of the women’s Euro-2022 between England and Germany (English victory 2-1 after extra time) on July 31 in London brought together 17.95 million viewers across the Rhine (peak at 21.8 million) , the best TV audience of the year, better than the Mannschaft’s 17.49 million against Costa Rica at the Men’s World Cup in Qatar in early December.