By Andrew Warshaw
February 11 – Women’s football looks set to make a significant breakthrough with the introduction of a women’s Club World Cup to mirror the annual men’s event that comprises the regional club champions from each of FIFA’s six confederations plus the host country’s league winner.
The proposal has been made by FIFA’s Task Force for women’s football and was due to be further examined today before most likely being approved by FIFA’s executive committee next month. Ideally the competition would be launched in 2017.
Until now, women have had no elite FIFA-organised Futsal, beach football or club competition. The women’s World Cup and the Olympic competition are every four years but as the women’s game has grown, so there have been growing calls for a regular international club tournament to create a regular showcase for female players.
The prospect of launching a sustainable product that would be commercial attractive is a significant factor though the exact format and location of any Club World Cup for women is still to be resolved.
The one team per confederation concept of the men’s Club World Cup, while trumpeted by FIFA, is widely viewed as not being ideal, not least because the competition is always won by either the European or South American participant.
It is anticipated that any women’s tournament would comprise more clubs but how it would fit into the international calendar has still to be resolved.
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