Hunting for good value in football? Look no further than the Women’s World Cup

The 2012 World Cup cost an estimated $14bn. The Women’s World Cup, now underway in Canada, comes in at rather less. Natalie Stanton looks at how the numbers stack up.

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The Women's World Cup is run on a shoestring compared to the men's event

Women's football has yet to capture the world's imagination in the same way as the men's game. The 2015 Women's World Cup, which kicked off on Saturday in Canada, aims to close that gap.

In terms of sheer numbers, however, it still has a way to go: almost 3.5 million people passed through the turnstiles during last year's World Cup in Brazil; just 1.5 million are expected this month in Canada.

But when you look at the financing of the two tournaments, it's a wonder the disparity isn't even wider

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Infrastructure: $14bn vs $250m

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According to Reuters, about $11.3bn (£7.4bn) went on World Cup-related infrastructure improvements in Brazil. Of this, about $3.26bn (£2.1bn) was on stadiums. Of the 12 host cities, five needed brand new stadiums, built specifically for the tournament. Six further venues were extensively renovated, and one was demolished and completely rebuilt.

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The sprucing up for the Women's World Cup is doing double-duty too Canada is hoping the set-up will stand it in good stead to win its bid to host the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Ticket prices: $625 vs $132

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Winnings: $35m vs $2m

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Turf wars: Grass vs artificial turf

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A lawyer representing the players said that installing real grass pitches would cost $2m to $3m at the most less than one-fifth of the $27m Fifa spent on a recent film about its former president Sepp Blatter. However, Fifa refused to make the changes, and the players ultimately withdrew their complaint.

Natalie Stanton

Natalie joined MoneyWeek in March 2015. Prior to that she worked as a reporter for The Lawyer, and a researcher/writer for legal careers publication the Chambers Student Guide. 

 

She has an undergraduate degree in Politics with Media from the University of East Anglia, and a Master’s degree in International Conflict Studies from King’s College, London.

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