MEDIA
Women’s World Cup broadcast blackout looms in Europe
Europe’s top soccer nations face a broadcast blackout for this year’s Women’s World Cup unless media can improve on their “disappointing” offers for the rights, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.
Offers from “Big 5” European countries were not acceptable to football’s world governing body and a “slap in the face” of the players and “all women worldwide”, Infantino said.
The ‘Big 5’ nations are Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
“To be very clear, it is our moral and legal obligation not to undersell the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” Infantino said at a World Trade Organization meeting 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.”
The World Cup, being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, starts on July 20.
Infantino said broadcasters had offered only $1 million-$10 million for the rights, compared to $100 million-$200 million for rights to the men’s World Cup.
Due to the time-zone difference, Women’s World Cup matches will be held outside prime-time viewing hours for European markets but Infantino said that was no excuse.
“Maybe … it’s not played on prime-time in Europe, but still, it is played at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m., so it is quite a reasonable time,” he said.
Some 1.12 billion viewers tuned into the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France across all platforms, according to a FIFA audit of the tournament.
-Reuters
By KUNLE SOLAJA.
Former Lagos State Governor and ex-Minister of Works, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has urged Nigeria to adopt sports as a central pillar of national economic development, describing it as an untapped solution to the country’s youth unemployment crisis.
Speaking at the public presentation of sports journalist Mumini Alao’s autobiography at the University of Lagos, Fashola said Nigeria’s policymakers have “ignored a solution hiding in plain sight” by failing to fully develop sports as a business.
“Sports is a profession that employs mainly young people from their teenage years to around 40.
“When I reflect on the Nigerian problem of youth employment, I tell myself that it persists perhaps because we have been ignoring the solution,” he stated.
Fashola cited global examples of sports as a major economic driver, including the English Premier League’s £3.36 billion GDP contribution to the UK economy in 2015, and Saudi Arabia’s recent sports investments that have added 1% to its GDP.
He recommended integrating sports into national development plans, revamping school curricula to nurture talent from an early age, developing modern sports infrastructure, and ensuring safety, security, and good governance in sports administration.
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Top dignitaries expected at the public presentation of frontline journalist Mumini Alao’s autobiography have been confirming their attendance at the event, which will hold at the Tayo Aderinokun Lecture Theatre, University of Lagos, on Sunday, 10th August 2025, at 1:00 pm.
Top of the bill is former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, who will deliver a lecture on the topic, ‘Rethinking the Current Football Business Model in Nigeria As a Catalyst for Sports Development.’ Fashola met Alao at the final of the ITTF Africa Youth Cup table tennis tournament at the Teslim Balogun stadium on Tuesday, 5th August and reassured the author of his preparedness for the lecture.
Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, also noted his commitment to the event in a message sent to the author, who is the speaker’s constituent in the Agege area of Lagos State, where he (Alao) grew up.
Obasa will be the chief presenter of the autobiography. He will be supported by Honourable Kabiru Amadu, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Sports.
Also confirming his attendance is the Chairman of the occasion, Mallam Shehu Dikko, Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC). Dikko will lead other top sports officials from the NSC, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) to listen to Fashola’s postulation on Nigerian football.
Rounding off the list of principal guests expected at the public lecture and book presentation is former sports minister Senator John Owan Enoh who is currently the Minister of State for Industry. Enoh wrote a foreword in the book alongside former Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu.
Other guests expected at the event are federal and states sports associations officials, Nigerian former Olympians and former Super Eagles players, journalists, family, friends, associates and fans of the book writer.
Dr. Mumini Alao, is an accomplished Nigerian sports journalist, author and media entrepreneur. He rose to the position of group managing director of Complete Communications Limited, publishers of widely-read popular journals, Complete Football magazine and Complete Sports newspapers. His last published book was “The Making of Nigeria’s Dream Team: Football Gold Medal Winners At Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games.”
Alao’s latest work, his autobiography, is a no-holds-barred narration of his professional and private lives spanning 60 years. Dr. Bolu John Folayan of the Department of Mass Communication, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro will be the book reviewer, while SuperSports presenter, Mozez Praiz, will be the master of ceremony.
The event will be streamed live to a global audience on the YouTube channel of Complete Sports.
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All is set for the public presentation of the autobiography of renowned Nigerian sports journalist, Dr. Mumini Alao, with former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), confirmed as the keynote speaker at the high-profile event.
Dr. Alao, a respected figure in Nigerian sports media and former Group Managing Director of Complete Communications Ltd., announced the development following a meeting with Fashola on Tuesday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium during the finals of the ITTF Africa Youth Cup.
Everyone anxiously awaits the launch of the autobiography. It is about one of Nigeria’s best sports journalists. This author has contributed appreciably to Nigeria’s sports literature.
The former governor, who was at the venue to present trophies at the continental table tennis event, confirmed his readiness to speak at the book launch scheduled for Sunday, August 10, at the University of Lagos.
According to Dr. Alao, Fashola will speak on the topic: “Rethinking the Current Football Business Model in Nigeria as a Catalyst for Sports Development.”
“I’m sure this topic will be of interest to all of us stakeholders in Nigerian football,” Dr. Alao remarked, while inviting members of the public and sports community to grace the event.
The book, chronicling Alao’s decades-long career in sports journalism, promises to be a compelling reflection on the evolution of Nigerian sports media, landmark events, and the personalities that have shaped the industry.
The launch is expected to attract a broad audience of media professionals, football administrators, athletes, and policymakers.
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