Tuesday , March 19 2024

New report highlights social & economic legacy left by 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup!

A new report, published today by the French Football Federation (FFF) and the Local Organising Committee for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019, has highlighted the positive social, economic and environmental benefits left by France 2019.

Published one year since the USA beat the Netherlands to win a historic fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup title, the new report highlights the positive socio-economic and environmental legacy of the tournament, which attracted 1.2 million French and overseas spectators and a global TV audience of over 1 billion fans.

The study, which was conducted and consolidated over recent months, reveals that the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 made a direct, indirect and induced contribution of EUR 284 million to France’s GDP, with a net capital gain of EUR 108 million to French GDP generated by the competition.

The report also states that the average contribution to GDP per spectator was EUR 142 and for every one euro spent, the nine Host Cities and regions of the competition have benefited from a return on investment between two to 20 euros of contribution to the French GDP.

Gianni Infantino, FIFA President,said “The FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 was an unprecedented success, breaking numerous records on and off the pitch. In line with FIFA’s commitment to organise tournaments in a sustainable way, this report further highlights the lasting impact and legacy of France 2019, not only for women’s football, but also for the local economy and the society.

“As FIFA now begins a new journey towards the next FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023, we would like to warmly thank France, the FFF and the Local Organising Committee for their commitment to delivering a sustainable legacy for France 2019 and look forward to working together with Australia and New Zealand to break new records in 2023 and further boost women’s football in the region and around the world.”

Noël Le Graët, President of the FFF and the Local Organising Committee, added “The first satisfaction is to have proved that a women’s football competition can win popular support and help to change the perception of women’s football.

“In 2014, when the FFF decided to take over the organisation, I remember the scepticism surrounding the organisation, particularly with regard to the economic dimension. Today, the economic results are positive. They prove that the efforts of FIFA, the LOC, the FFF, the leagues, and the host regions and cities have paid off.

“It is also a source of pride that football, with the organisation of a major women’s sporting event, brings significant direct and indirect economic benefits to the territories and the community. The environmental effort should also be highlighted. In this sector, the FFF’s involvement, with the implementation of its eco-responsible policy, must continue.”

Those positive economic results are further proof of the successful collaboration between FIFA and the Local Organising Committee in making the tournament more sustainable. Amongst others, those efforts also included an accessibility programme for disabled people and people with limited mobility, including infrastructure requirements, customised services, accessible seating categories and training of the workforce, as well as an audio-descriptive commentary of matches for blind and partially sighted fans.

Further achievements were the publication of a non-discriminatory language guide for the media on women’s football and a six-month professional development programme for young people carried out in collaboration with the “Service Civique”.

Other key findings in the report include:

  • 6.4 tonnes of food waste collected and donated to local community-based associations
  • 1 tonne of bottle caps collected and donated for recycling
  • 4 stadiums equipped with a new two-flow bin system for waste and recyclables
  • 21 matches offered audio-descriptive commentary for the blind and partially-sighted
  • 3 stadiums were newly equipped with an audio-descriptive commentary system that will remain after the tournament (including AV equipment)
  • 210,200 cigarette butts collected and recycled

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