Gianni Infantino was at Rotherham’s New York City Stadium on Sunday evening to witness France take on Italy at the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 finals. Also attending the game were the French Football Federation President Noël Le Graët, and Italian Football Federation President Gabriele Gravina – and both held collaborative discussions with President Infantino during the course of the evening. The tournament in England marks the start of a packed schedule of events for the international women’s game – with three FIFA World Cups taking place over the next year.

Accelerating the growth of women’s football is a key part of FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s Vision 2020-2023 – and bolstering the women’s game, as well as the participation of women in football governance and administration at all levels, is at the top of the game’s agenda around the world. In August, Costa Rica will host the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ - followed two months later by the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ in India. While in July and August of 2023, the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ will take place in Australia and New Zealand – a tournament France have already booked their place at, while Italy can secure their qualification in September. The official draw will take place in October this year, with an historic Play-Off Tournament deciding the final qualifiers in February 2023. France and Italy, ranked third and 14th respectively in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Rankings, were playing their first match at the finals, which are taking place in England in July. The tournament, in its 13th edition, got under way on 6 July – where a record crowd of 68,871 saw hosts England defeat Austria 1-0 at Manchester’s Old Trafford stadium.

On what proved to be an action-packed evening on the field, President Infantino witnessed tournament history being made, as France ran out comfortable 5-1 victors – with all five goals scored during a scintillating first-half display. The result was France’s biggest win in a Women’s EURO, and in doing so Corinne Diacre’s side also become the first nation to score five goals before the interval at a Women’s EURO game. Meanwhile, in May 2022, it was confirmed that Corinne Diacre would once again be a mentor on the FIFA Coach Mentorship Programme – which returns for its second edition in 2022.