Visa Enhances Support With $500K Awards For '23 FIFA Women’s World Cup

By Barry Janoff

UPDATED June 27, 2023: Visa today unveiled an expansion of its worldwide partnership with FIFA women’s football and the upcoming World Cup Australia & New Zealand.

The company said the Visa Player of the Match athlete — to be awarded at each of the 64 matches to the player whom fans vote to be the most outstanding of the match — would now also support women-owned small businesses with $500,000 in total grant funding across the 64 matches and potentially 32 qualifying countries.

Visa will award 64 grants to women-owned small businesses in each Player of the Match country the athlete represents. The funding ranges in value from $5,000 for the 48 group-stage matches up to $50,000 for the final. The winning small businesses will be unveiled live at each athlete trophy presentation.

“Visa understands equity requires action and resources,” Frank Cooper, Visa CMO, said via the company.

"We're excited to use the world’s biggest stage for women’s sports to put the power for change into the athlete’s performance - and uplift a business in the home country of each game's Player of the Match.”

Visa's move closely follows FIFA unveiling a Member Association distribution model “with a financial contribution specifically earmarked for all players at the tournament.”

According to FIFA, “Under this ground-breaking new model, participating Member Associations will receive record distributions to support football development in their countries, while all participating players will receive guaranteed remuneration for their achievements at the tournament.”

The total purse is $110 million, with $4.290 million for the champion club vs. the $30 million total purse for the 2019 Women’s World Cup, where the U.S. champions took in $4 million total.

Total purse money at the FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup was $15 million.

By comparison, total prize money awarded at the 32-team FIFA 2022 Men's World Cup in Qatar was $440 million.

FIFA said its total investment in the Women’s World Cup 2023 is budgeted to exceed $500 million.

“Under this unprecedented new distribution model, each individual player at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 can now fully rely on remuneration for their efforts as they progress through the Tournament,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said via the organization.

April 11, 2023: U.S. Women’s National Team members Catarina Macario, Sam Mewis and Mallory Swanson were among a group of more than 30 players named today to Team Visa en route to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand this Summer.

Visa, the exclusive payment service partner for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, said  the group of 33 Team Visa athletes from 27 markets “represents the largest number of women footballers in Team Visa’s history.”

April 10 marked 100 Days until the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand, scheduled for July 20-Aug. 20, 2023.

With the 2023 Women’s World Cup expanded to 32 nations, all 64 matches will be televised live and exclusively in the U.S. in English on Fox and Fox Sports platforms and in Spanish on NBCUniversal Telemundo and Universo — airing 33 and 31 matches, respectively — and live-stream on Peacock.

Visa said the program extends its “commitment to connecting the world through sport and championing women athletes at a time when women’s football continues to reach new heights.”

During the Tournament, the company will present the fan-voted Visa Player of the Match trophy at each match, and “implement innovative payment experiences throughout official venues.”

“We’ve witnessed historic shifts for equity and equality in football in recent years, and Visa is committed to providing these resilient women with the tools and resources necessary to continue working for a level playing field,” Andrea Fairchild, Visa svp and head of sponsorships, said via the company.

“We are proud to welcome this incredible group of athletes into our Team Visa family. We look forward to seeing them unlock their greatest potential.”

Visa said that since 2000, Team Visa has “lent crucial support to more than 500 athletes around the globe providing them with a platform to tell their inspiring stories.

“To help athletes thrive personally and professionally, the program provides financial support, assistance with philanthropic endeavors, financial literacy tools, and mental health and wellness resources.”

Visa said Team Visa athletes are selected for the program based on their personal journeys, athletic achievements, community involvement and alignment with Visa’s core values of equality, access, and inclusion.

In 2021, Visa expanded its support of women’s football by becoming the first global partner for the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup.

“Women are a force to be reckoned with — on the pitch, as small business owners, and as drivers of a majority of consumer purchases,” the company said at the time.

“We know that when we support the success of women in sport, we support the success of women everywhere. Becoming the first FIFA women’s football partner is part of a much larger investment in women’s initiatives to help recognize the limitless potential of women around the world.”

Visa has been an official partner with FIFA since 2007.

In addition, Visa is a primary sponsor of UEFA Women’s Football, and a sponsor of national teams including the U.S. Soccer Federation and Mexican Football Federation.

FIFA partners for the Women’s World Cup 2023 currently include adidas, Coca-Cola, Globant, Visa, Wanda Group and Xero.

This is the first time FIFA Fan Festivals will be staged during a FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Swanson tore the patellar tendon in her left knee during a friendly against Ireland on April 8 and likely will not be able to participate in the World Cup.

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