UK and other European nations call on FIFA and broadcasters to ‘quickly reach an agreement’ to show Women’s World Cup
The UK and other major European governments have called on FIFA and independent broadcasters to “quickly reach an agreement” for how the Women’s World Cup will be televised in July and August.
The joint statement comes weeks after Gianni Infantino, the head of FIFA, threatened not to show this year’s tournament in five European countries – the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – in a row over money.
Mr Infantino claimed broadcasters had offered FIFA between $1m (£800,000) and $10m (£8m) for the rights, compared with $100m (£80m) to $200m (£160m) for the men’s World Cup.
The governments from the five countries embroiled in the row have now said in a statement: “We, as sports ministers of European countries whose women’s national football teams have qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand, from the 20th of July to the 20th of August 2023, have acknowledged with concern that until now, no television rights have been attributed for the matches broadcasting in our countries.”
“We are convinced that the media coverage of the Women’s World Cup will be decisive in improving the global visibility of women’s sports in our European countries. Media exposure to women’s sports has indeed a highly significant impact on the development of women’s and young girls’ sports practices,” the statement adds.
The governments have also said they feel it is their responsibility to “fully mobilise all stakeholders, for them to quickly reach an agreement”.
England go into the tournament off the back of their Euro 2022 triumph
Earlier this month, Mr Infantino said the offers received from broadcasters for the rights were “disappointing” and described them as a “slap in the face” of all great players and “all women worldwide”.
The president said it was the “moral and legal obligation” of football’s world governing body “not to undersell” the tournament.
Speaking at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Mr Infantino added that if offers “continue not to be fair [towards women and women’s football], we will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup into the ‘Big 5’ European countries”.
Read more:
England boss set to name squad for Women’s World Cup
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Women’s World Cup viewing rights threatened
The FIFA boss also said his organisation “did our part” by raising the prize money for the competition to $152m (£123m) – treble the amount paid in 2019 and 10 times more than in 2015.
England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have all qualified for the first Women’s World Cup to have 32 teams, and FIFA has a standby broadcasting option with its own online streaming platform FIFA+.
The tender process for UK broadcasting rights to the competition opened in June 2022 with a bid deadline of 12 July last year.
It followed the UK government’s April 2022 announcement that both the Women’s World Cup and UEFA Women’s Euros would be added to the Listed Events Regime, “crown jewels” sporting events that must be offered to free-to-air broadcasters, limiting potential bidders.
The joint statement from European nations on Wednesday comes as England boss Sarina Wiegman prepares to name her 23-player squad for the tournament.
UK
Blackpool South by-election: Sir Keir Starmer hails ‘seismic win’ as Labour takes seat from Conservatives
Labour has won the Blackpool South by-election from the Conservatives in yet another blow for Rishi Sunak’s leadership.
The party’s candidate Chris Webb received 10,825 votes after Thursday’s contest – a 58.9% vote share – with the Tories trailing far behind with just 3,218.
Reform UK were hot on their heels, getting 3,101 votes, while the Liberal Democrats got 387 votes and the Green Party won 368.
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Local elections results as they come in
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called it a “seismic” victory for his party and “the most important” amid a raft of local election results.
He added: “This is the one contest where voters had the chance to send a message to Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives directly, and that message is an overwhelming vote for change.”
Speaking to Sky News after his win was announced, Mr Webb said his priority in parliament would be the cost of living crisis, as it had “damaged so many people here in Blackpool South [and] people are struggling to make ends meet”.
The Commons’ newest MP said people were “fed up” and “want change”, adding: “Life-long Conservatives voted for me in this election and Labour because they want that change.
“So many people are crying out for a Labour government, Rishi Sunak need to admit he’s failed and call a general election.”
Blackpool South becomes the seventh seat the Conservative Party has lost to the Labour Party in this parliament – although the Tories won Hartlepool off Labour 2021.
Read more – local election results:
Labour pull off shock wins in Tory strongholds
The by-election was called after the former Conservative MP Scott Benton – who won the seat in 2019 with a slimmer majority of 3,690 – was caught in a sting by The Times newspaper, suggesting he was willing to break lobbying rules for money.
As a result, he was suspended from the Commons for 35 days, meaning he was subject to a recall petition in his constituency.
But instead of facing removal from his seat, Mr Benton resigned from parliament, triggering a vote for a new MP.
In an added painful twist for the Tories, the candidate standing to replace him, David Jones, was revealed as the chairman of the Fylde Conservatives – the area represented by the latest scandal hit MP Mark Menzies.
Mr Menzies hit the headlines after claims he misused campaign funds – including by calling a member of the local association to say he was locked in a flat by “bad people” and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”.
Mr Jones denied he knew anything about the incident – which was allegedly reported to the Conservative Party three months ago – until it was revealed in the media.
Tory MP Ben Spencer said it was a “very disappointing” result, but “not entirely unexpected”.
He put the loss down to a lower turnout due to the scandal involving Mr Benton, telling Sky News: “Voters don’t like voting in a by-election. Why should they? And particularly one that’s been generated through a scandal.
“They’re going to be very annoyed and saying, ‘why do I have to vote again? Why is my Conservative MP gone?’
“And… of course, given that circumstance, it was always going to be a very, very uphill struggle.”
A party spokesperson also described the by-election as “a tough fight” that was “always going to be difficult… given the specific circumstances,” adding: “What has been clear is that a vote for Reform is a vote for Sir Keir Starmer – taking us right back to square one.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The by-election took place alongside local elections around England and Wales.
As results began to roll in, Labour took control of a number of local authorities where voters overwhelmingly backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum.
However, there are hundreds of seats still to be declared, along with 10 mayoralties and 37 police and crime commissioners, in the coming hours and days.
Follow our live coverage of the election results throughout the weekend – find the full details here.
Labour has won control of a string of Leave-voting councils as results begin to roll in from the local elections across England and Wales.
The party seized control of Rushmoor in Hampshire from the Conservatives shortly after 3am – a council the Tories had run for the last 24 years – with a spokesman calling the result “truly historic”.
They also took Hartlepool Council – the scene of a major by-election loss back in 2021, which led Sir Keir Starmer to consider quitting as leader.
A spokesperson said the win – that saw the authority move from no overall control into Labour’s hands – was “a ground-breaking moment” after the defeat three years ago.
Politics live: Follow the results as they come in
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‘A good night for Labour’
Labour also claimed victory in Thurrock, Essex, from no overall control, saying it was “exactly the kind of place we need to be winning to gain a majority in a general election”.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives lost control of North East Lincolnshire after Labour won five of the seats up for grabs – with neither party now holding a majority on the council.
All four areas overwhelmingly voted Leave in the 2016 referendum, with Thurrock supporting it by 72.3%, North East Lincolnshire by 69.9%, Hartlepool by 69.6% and Rushmoor by 58.2%.
More than 2,600 council seats across 107 councils are up for grabs in England, alongside 11 mayoral elections, a parliamentary seat and police and crime commissioners throughout England and Wales – so there is still a way to go.
But early signs show Labour is winning back seats in areas it lost over the Brexit debate, as well as making gains in traditionally Tory voting councils.
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‘We’re surging, they’re sinking’
Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed told Sky News that while it was “early days”, the results so far were showing positive signs for Labour come the next general election.
“These are not polls,” he said. “These are people getting off their backsides, going out of their homes, into a polling station, putting a cross on a party that they want to govern their local area.
“People are crying out for change. I know that from speaking to people on the doorsteps and tonight, it looks like people around the country are voting for change.”
But while Tory MP James Daly said he “fully accepts” the loss of these councils, he insisted to Sky News his party could “still win in parts of the country where historically Labour have dominated” – including in Teeside, where Conservative Lord Houchen is defending his mayoralty.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Other results in so far include Labour holding on to Sunderland Council, along with local authorities in South Tyneside, Chorley and Newcastle,
However, the Greens won a number of seats from Labour in Newcastle, with the party’s co-leader Carla Denyer telling Sky News it was over its position on the conflict in Gaza.
The Conservatives held on to Broxbourne Council in Hertfordshire – an authority it has run for its entire 52-year history.
Senior Tories are predicting they will lose the Blackpool South by-election as counting gets under way.
Sources told Sky News’ political correspondent Tamara Cohen they did “not expect to hold” the seat – which they won with a 3,690 majority in 2019.
And they said the “stars could not be more aligned against us” following scandals hitting local MPs.
Follow live: Tories braced for potentially difficult night in local elections
The by-election was called after the former Conservative MP Scott Benton was caught in a sting by the Times newspaper, suggesting he was willing to break lobbying rules for money.
Former Tory MP Scott Benton. Pic: PA
As a result, he was suspended from the Commons for 35 days, meaning he was subject to a recall petition in his constituency.
But instead of facing removal from his seat, Mr Benton resigned from parliament, triggering a vote for a new MP.
In an added painful twist for the Tories, the candidate standing to replace him, David Jones, was revealed as the chairman of the Fylde Conservatives – the area represented by the latest scandal hit MP Mark Menzies.
Mr Menzies hit the headlines after claims he misused campaign funds – including by calling a member of the local association to say he was locked in a flat by “bad people” and needed £5,000 as a matter of “life and death”.
Mr Jones denied he knew anything about the incident – which was allegedly reported to the Conservative Party three months ago – until it was revealed in the media.
Pic: Reuters
Labour sources told Sky News they were confident of a win in Blackpool South, despite it being a seat held by the Tories for 57 of the 78 years it has existed.
However, Labour did hold the constituency between 1997 and 2019 – before Boris Johnson and the Conservatives won over a number of the so-called Red Wall seats in the north of England.
Labour MP Samantha Dixon told Sky News’ chief political correspondent, Jon Craig, at the count that it was “going to be a very good night” for her party, claiming the local candidate, Chris Webb, had “given people a reason to come out and vote”.
She added: “We don’t know what the turnout figures are going to be [yet], but I think they’re going to be encouraging, because I think what you’ve seen is people turning to Labour as opposed to being turned off politics.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The by-election comes at the same time as a range of local council, mayoral, and police and crime commissioner votes across both England and Wales.
Tory sources told Tamara Cohen they were expecting to lose upwards of 500 seats, which would be a big blow to the party ahead of a general election.
But Labour sources claimed the number would be far fewer – despite the party bounding ahead of the Conservatives in national polling.
Speaking to Sky News late on Thursday night, Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds would not put a number on how many council seats would be a good result for her, saying: “I think the key thing is going to be to see whether Labour is moving forward in those areas where it’s really critical that we build support before the next general election.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats were in a positive mood in the early hours of Friday, with sources telling Sky News they were “hearing of gains in former Conservative heartlands” – including in Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Hertfordshire.
Follow our live coverage of the election results from midnight – find the full details here.
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