By: Eric Xu

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is now investing more money into helping women and girls. They are trying to help increase equality in soccer and help the women’s world cup reach its maximum potential. However, there are some problems that stop that from happening.

Sexual assault is still a major concern in women’s soccer. The risk of sexual violence keeps many players away, and FIFA wants that to stop. Currently, the biggest controversy is about a coach named Bruce Mwape. “FIFA is investigating an official complaint that Zambia Women’s manager Bruce Mwape sexually assaulted a player at this year’s World Cup.” (Gb News, 2023) These types of actions have not only appeared recently, but have also plagued FIFA ever since the beginning. This is why “In the wake of abuse scandals in Haiti and Afghanistan, FIFA promised to create an independent body to oversee cases of sexual abuse and harassment, just as the nonprofit U.S. Center for SafeSport functions in the United States.” (Washington Post, 2023)

FIFA has spent lots of money on women’s soccer, commiting “at least $30,000 US pay to all players at the Women’s World Cup” (CBC, 2023) This has not helped as much as FIFA wanted, but they still managed to make some difference. “Participation rates for women and girls have increased over 35% since 2011.” (NZ Football, 2023) Even though these efforts have been noble, they have not been as effective as FIFA expected. “How long this interest lasts, however, depends on longer term investment strategies. And that means building opportunities for girls and young women to participate in safe, supportive, and truly inclusive sporting environments.” (Waikato, 2023) FIFA still has to invest more money to be able to allow women’s soccer to reach its maximumpotential. The future is unknown, but hopefully, there will still be some positive impact from FIFA’s efforts.

FIFA has been trying to increase the amount of participation for women’s soccer, and it has been succeeding slightly. Even though the current benefits and investments are real, the future of women’s soccer is still unknown.