Women’s football should be made more accessible to girls and women worldwide, and that’s what a new move between the UN and FIFA is all about. Gender equality on and of the pitch, this is the new thrust.

FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) and the UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) signed  the first ever memorandum of understanding (MoU). FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka signed it at the FIFA Women’s Football Convention yesterday (7th June), before the opening match of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019. 

 “This is a significant moment for FIFA as we combine forces with UN Women to realise gender equality for women both on and off the pitch.” said Infantino. “Together, we will raise awareness about women’s football and its impact in terms of health, empowerment and positive role models for women and girls around the world.”

The MoU will provide a strong framework for strengthening and further developing synergies between FIFA and UN Women. Both organisations will work closely with public authorities, international organisations, the private sector, and media and sports organisations to make football more accessible to women and girls and to disseminate diverse sports content to promote gender equality.

Major sporting events will also be leveraged to deliver a legacy of positive change at social, political and economic levels to challenge persistent forms of discrimination and stereotypes that hold back progress for all.

“UN Women and FIFA are committed to levelling the playing field for women and girls, leveraging football’s mass appeal to bring positive change around the world. We are confident that this partnership will make a real difference to the gender inequality that we currently see in all sports, and that we are working to end throughout society, knowing that the benefits are for everyone,”said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

The three key joint areas of work in the MoU are sports policy development, the promotion and support of sustainable projects that will help create a lasting legacy, cultural change and empowerment of women and girls around the world, and communications to raise awareness around gender equality through sport, for example through the support of the FIFA Legends and UN Women Goodwill Ambassadors, as well as major tournaments.

The FIFA Women’s Football Convention, where the MoU signing took place, saw leaders from the world of sport and politics assemble to discuss key issues related to the development of women’s football and the societal benefits of football on women and girls around the world.

  equality, FIFA World Cup 2019, FOOTBALL, Gender, soccer, women’s football