FIFA continues to play hardball with broadcasters, threatening blackouts in European markets if they don’t meet its demands for higher media rights fees for the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino criticized European broadcasters Monday for not offering a “fair” price for the tournament.

“It is our moral and legal obligation not to undersell the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” Infantino said in an appearance at the World Trade Organization in Geneva. “Therefore, should the offers continue not to be fair, we will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup into the ‘Big 5’ European countries.”

That includes England, Germany, France, Spain and Italy — all of which will have teams in the tournament this summer in Australia and New Zealand. (The U.S. broadcast rights are held by Fox as part of an existing agreement with FIFA, which also covers the men’s tournament.)

Infantino called the offers for World Cup broadcast rights made so far by European broadcasters “a slap in the face” not just to players in the World Cup but also women generally.

The tournament is set to begin in less than three months, and it’s set to be the biggest Women’s World Cup to date. For the first time, the tournament has expanded to 32 teams and will be giving out a record $150 million in prize money.

This is not the first time Infantino has criticized media companies for not paying up for a product that he said has proved to be increasingly popular as viewership figures increase. Last year, both Infantino and FIFA rejected initial offers for TV rights, dismissing them as too low.

Noting that broadcasters “pay $100-200 million for the men’s FIFA World Cup,” Infantino said that for the women’s tournament, offers usually come in between $1 million and $10 million.

According to Infantino, “100% of any rights fees” will go straight back into the women’s game “in our move to promote actions towards equal conditions and pay.”

“This is a slap in the face of all the great FIFA Women’s World Cup players and indeed of all women worldwide,” he said.

According to the New York Times, BBC and ITV have offered one of the highest bids among European broadcasters at $11.2 million as women’s soccer has become increasingly popular in England. Italy, meanwhile, offered about $1 million.

But some are accusing FIFA of helping to create the disparity. Former Australia national team player and ex-FIFA executive Moya Dodd said that the reason the numbers are so low is due to FIFA previously selling the rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups as a bundle, as is still the case in the United States.

In those bundled deals, FIFA attributed all the money to the men’s tournament, which has led broadcasters to overvalue the rights to the men’s tournament and undervalue the women’s.

“Now that FIFA has decided to sell the rights separately, it’s no surprise that the buyers don’t want to pay the same big numbers twice,” Dodd said.

“Effectively, the industry was trained to pay big money for the men’s World Cup and to treat the women’s equivalent as worthless. At the same time, the women were told they didn’t deserve prize money or equal pay because they didn’t bring the revenues. It’s actually quite outrageous. For FIFA to now say that all women’s revenues will go straight into women’s football overlooks the fact that the value of the women’s rights have until now been used to inflate the value of men’s football.”

She says that she would rather see FIFA review all of its bundled deals and funnel some of that money back into the women’s game.

“If in fact the Women’s World Cup gets 50-60% of the viewers of the men’s, as FIFA says, that should amount to a sum in the billions,” she said.

The threat of not broadcasting the tournament in key European markets could do more harm than good, said Rebecca Sowden, a former New Zealand national team player.

“Not broadcasting the games in key European markets would be short-sighted and a massive blow to the wider women’s football ecosystem with fans and sponsors being the biggest losers,” Sowden said. “Instead, FIFA should be working to better educate and demonstrate the value of women’s football, each and every year – as we see in the USA around women’s basketball and other sports – rather than popping out of the woodwork every four years when it’s time for media negotiations.”

Incoming NWSL expansion team Denver announced more infrastructure news on Thursday, naming the squad's first-ever employee in decorated sports executive Jen Millet, who will serve as club president.

"Jen stood out amongst an extensive list of qualified candidates," said controlling owner Rob Cohen in a club statement. "Jen’s understanding of soccer, building world-class brands, ability to engage the community, and passion for creating a culture of excellence made her the ideal fit to run our club."

Previously, Millet served as the chief operating officer for 2024 expansion team Bay FC, a club she led to the league's top in merchandise sales and top-three in ticketing revenue in the franchise's inaugural season.

The Denver post, in which Millet will lead all of the club's business operations, will return Millet to her hometown as she takes on another NWSL launch.

"People might say I'm crazy to do back-to-back builds," Millet told The Athletic. "But I actually love this kind of work, and so I'm excited to get going."

With a new dedicated stadium and training facility in the works, plus record season ticket sales and, now, NWSL-savvy leadership, Denver looks prepared to hit the ground running as the league's 16th team in 2026.

The 2025 PWHL Takeover Tour was a smash hit, with the second-year league’s nine-game out-of-market series drawing record-breaking crowds across North America.

Built as both a marketing push and a way to size up cities for future expansion, the Takeover Tour has given hockey fans access to the PWHL from Seattle to Québec City.

"The PWHL Takeover Tour has been one of the most rewarding initiatives since our inception — for our fans, our athletes, and our staff," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.

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Record-setting crowds packed PWHL Tour stops

According to a Friday press release, a total of 123,601 fans visited the Tour, setting a new US attendance record for professional women’s hockey with 14,018 cheering in Denver on January 12th — a mark that fell just over two months later when 14,288 fans filled Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena on March 16th.

More than half the games rank in the PWHL’s Top-10 most attended matchups, with the Takeover Tour's January 8th Vancouver stop registering fourth on the list with its 19,038-strong sellout crowd.

Even more, the league estimates that 80% of the Tour's attendees witnessed their first-ever PWHL game, making the series a rousing success in expanding the league's reach and growing the game beyond its six home markets.

"Across the nine stops, we connected with new fans, grew the game, and gave audiences the opportunity to experience the unparalleled excitement of a PWHL game live," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer.

"This Tour created core memories for our fans and players and its success is a true testament to the passion and support we’re seeing across North America."

Already looking deep into the future, the Tour also gave 945 hockey-playing girls access to clinics and meetings with PWHL stars — a move that Hefford hopes inspires the young athletes to aim for pro careers of their own, now that the league has paved the path into "an achievable goal."

Projected 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers announced her first pro deal on Friday, signing with new league partner Ally Financial as the bank gears up to help launch the WNBA’s first-ever Rivalry Week.

"I think the biggest lesson I've learned is to give with what you've been given," Bueckers said during a Friday morning press conference. "A lot of my partnerships, we have values aligned of giving back."

As draft prospects weigh the factors behind the decision to turn pro, Bueckers's early endorsement splash challenges the idea that NIL opportunities end the moment college players exit the NCAA.

The brand-new NCAA champion has been out of the college game for less than one week, but by cashing in with a deal immediately, Bueckers is proving that her value isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

"I think at times there's too much made about salary, and too much made about what's going on in college," Dallas GM Curt Miller told reporters on Thursday. "The top players that we're talking to, their endorsements are going to travel with them."

Ally backs debut WNBA Rivalry Week

In line with the deal, the Ally-sponsored inaugural WNBA Rivalry Week will run from August 9th through the 17th, highlighting matchups with a significant amount of recent history.

Key games will include Midwest regional foes Indiana and Chicago battling it out on CBS, new expansion team Golden State hosting a California clash against the LA Sparks, and a pair of WNBA Finals rematches featuring the NY Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, and the Las Vegas Aces.

Monday’s 2025 WNBA Draft could seriously shape the future for the three teams at the helm of this year’s lottery, as top pick-holders Dallas, Seattle, and Washington all prepare to make major moves after a rollercoaster offseason.

The Wings currently hold the overall No. 1 pick, while Seattle will select second after a blockbuster three-team trade with LA and Las Vegas sent star Jewell Loyd to the Aces and the No. 2 pick to the Storm.

Washington also wields significant draft capital following another series of trades, which sent top guard Ariel Atkins to Chicago in exchange for the No. 3 pick. Meanwhile, the Mystics also hold Monday's fourth and sixth first-round selections.

While Dallas and Seattle wield the highest picks, Washington’s wealth of selections gives them the most first-round influence — especially over expansion franchise Golden State’s No. 5 pick.

"I think it actually creates an opportunity for us to build strength in a couple of different ways," said Mystics GM Jamila Wideman.

Flexibility is key in navigating the WNBA Draft

Uncertainty has reigned supreme in recent months, as team executives find out alongside the public exactly which college stars are entering the WNBA’s talent pool as some eligible standouts opt to remain in the NCAA for one final season.

"We're always nimble as GMs in this league," Dallas GM Curt Miller told media on Thursday. "You don’t truly know who is declaring and coming into the draft until the very end."

As for teams outside of the lottery, they'll have to cross their fingers and wait patiently on Monday, as last year’s lowest record-holders raid the draft pool first.