Leading The Way (Tatjana Haenni, FIFA, interview)

Tatjana Haenni, FIFA’s Head of Women’s Competitions and a former Switzerland international, argues that the game has done a brilliant job of developing players technically but almost nothing on the media and commercial side, and that only five to ten really good women’s leagues exist. Women’s football must be put on television to promote the product, she says, and organisations including FIFA do not yet see the potential. She defends taking the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups to Jordan and Papua New Guinea: Jordan she calls a perfect example of hosting, with training sites left as legacy and families attending for the first time, while Papua New Guinea was at the limit of what could be delivered. A Club World Cup, she says, is a key topic.