The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup is upon us! After four long years, 24 nations from around the globe gather for the crème de la crème tournament to decide which women’s national team reigns supreme. Will the U.S. repeat? Will the host country’s women win their first World Cup title? Curious who we think will hoist the trophy and which brands you should keep an eye on? Keep reading to find out!
It’s been roughly 1,430 days since the U.S. Women’s National Team hoisted the 18-karat gold FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy in the sky as champions of the world and here we are days away from the 2019 tournament in France. As the marquee global soccer event of the summer, the tournament is sure to bring great viewership numbers for American tournament broadcasters, FOX Sports and Telemundo.
During the 2015 tournament held in Canada, FOX averaged almost 4 million viewers per game, while Telemundo averaged 516,000. Both networks benefitted from the U.S. being in the final, as FOX drew an average of 25.4 million viewers (peaking at 31 million) and Telemundo averaged 1.3 million – the most-watched Women’s World Cup game on U.S Spanish-language TV.
Will the 2019 tournament achieve similar numbers? That remains to be seen, however, different from the 2015 tournament, time difference and non-prime-time game slots may play a factor. One thing is for sure, however – both networks will benefit from the U.S. again reaching the final on Sunday, July 7th.
#WNTEverywhere
Speaking of the U.S. team, as the final 23-woman roster for France was confirmed and the three games of the Send-Off Series began, U.S. Soccer worked with various female artists across the country as part of their #WNTEverywhere campaign. Several World Cup-selected players have been featured via mural in locations meaningful to the respective player(s), including hometown, club team location, or college town. In addition to the 11 murals, the entirety of the roster has been commemorated via poster. Artists for each of the murals and the respective locations can be found below.
Brook Powell (Atlanta), Nina Wright (Bay Area), Sam Kirk (Chicago), Jennifer Ustick (Cincinnati), Marissa Napoletano (Denver), Frida Davidsson (Los Angeles), Lexi Bella (New York City), Samantha Shumaker (Orlando), Nile Livingston (Philadelphia), Jessilyn Brinkerhoff (Portland), Grace McCammond (St. Louis).
The Women’s World Cup art drop also coincided with the release of U.S. Soccer’s new app, on which exclusive video content can be found using object recognition technology. Fans in cities that have one of 11 murals can unlock exclusive WNT content by aligning their mobile phone with the art piece. This video content is not available anywhere else – only for those visiting the female-focused murals leading up to the Women’s World Cup!
GESM Predictions
It wouldn’t be a marquee soccer event without some predictions, so I conducted a very scientific poll within our office to get to the bottom of two topics: which country will win the tournament and what are some brands to keep an eye on during the month-long event. See the collective GESM thoughts below in graphical form. Happy World Cup viewing, everyone!
Categories: Digital Content, Domestic, U.S. Soccer, Uncategorized, Women's World Cup