FIFA Head Infantino Says Women's World Cup Breaks Even

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 - Semi Final - Australia v England - Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia - August 16, 2023 FIFA president Gianni Infantino is pictured in the stands REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 - Semi Final - Australia v England - Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia - August 16, 2023 FIFA president Gianni Infantino is pictured in the stands REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo
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FIFA Head Infantino Says Women's World Cup Breaks Even

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 - Semi Final - Australia v England - Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia - August 16, 2023 FIFA president Gianni Infantino is pictured in the stands REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 - Semi Final - Australia v England - Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia - August 16, 2023 FIFA president Gianni Infantino is pictured in the stands REUTERS/Jaimi Joy/File Photo

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the Women’s World Cup has “broken even” after generating more than $570 million in revenue but dismissed suggestions for equal prize money with the men's World Cup.
The current World Cup prize pools sit at $110 million for women and $440 million for men. Infantino has consistently played down calls for equal payments.
On Friday, he suggested demands for equal prize money were a “slogan” that “would not solve anything."
“Some voices were raised, where it cost too much, we don’t make enough revenues, we will have to subsidize,” Infantino said at the FIFA Women’s Football Convention, according to The Associated Press.
“And our opinion was, ‘Well, if we have to subsidize, we will subsidize’, because we have to do that. But actually, this World Cup generated over $570 million in revenues, and so we broke even."
Infantino said FIFA didn't lose money “and we generated the second-highest income of any sport, besides of course the men’s World Cup, at a global stage."
“More than half a billion. There are not many competitions, even in men’s football, who generate more than half a billion."
Infantino urged broadcasters and sponsors to “pay a fair price" for women’s soccer — “to women’s football in general in all the countries, in all the leagues, in all the competitions.”



Hamburg Fires Steffen Baumgart as Coach after Five Games without a Win

08 November 2024, Lower Saxony, Brunswick: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart gives an interview before the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. (dpa)
08 November 2024, Lower Saxony, Brunswick: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart gives an interview before the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. (dpa)
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Hamburg Fires Steffen Baumgart as Coach after Five Games without a Win

08 November 2024, Lower Saxony, Brunswick: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart gives an interview before the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. (dpa)
08 November 2024, Lower Saxony, Brunswick: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart gives an interview before the German Bundesliga 2 soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and Hamburger SV. (dpa)

Former Bundesliga heavyweight Hamburger SV has fired Steffen Baumgart as coach after five games without a win across all competitions.

The second-division club said Sunday it was letting Baumgart go because of a “crisis of performances and results” after the team’s 2-2 draw at home with Schalke on Saturday.

That left Hamburg eighth in the 18-team division, four points behind early leader Paderborn after 13 rounds.

“Steffen gave everything with great passion, energy and commitment right up to the end for HSV. However, our analysis of the current situation and yesterday’s game has once again made it clear that we believe a new impetus is necessary,” Hamburg sporting director Stefan Kuntz said.

The club said Baumgart, who was a Hamburg fan as a child, took the news “calmly” on Sunday morning.

“It was an exciting and very intense time,” the former Cologne coach said. “I remain connected to the club and hope that HSV achieves its goals.”

Hamburg has been bidding to return to the Bundesliga since its demotion from the top flight in 2018. It had been the only ever-present team in the league since it was founded in 1963, earning the nickname “der Dino.”

But every season since relegation has ended in disappointment. Hamburg rival St. Pauli was promoted last season to add to Hamburg fans’ woes.

Baumgart, a former Hansa Rostock and Union Berlin forward, took over as Hamburg coach in February, when the team was third, but ultimately it was unable to improve and finished fourth – one place behind Fortuna Düsseldorf in the promotion playoff spot.

Hamburg said Baumgart’s assistants Rene Wagner and Kevin McKenna were also let go, and that assistant coach Merlin Polzin will prepare the team for its next game at Karlsruher SC.

There was no mention of a permanent successor.