Critical Perspectives on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Events, Issues, and Controversies

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Adam Beissel (Miami University, USA) Julie E. Brice (California State University Fullerton, USA)

Critical Perspectives on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Events, Issues, and Controversies

Adam Beissel (Miami University, USA), Julie E. Brice (California State University Fullerton, USA), Verity Postlethwaite (Loughborough University, UK) , Andrew Grainger (Western Sydney University, Australia)

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Hardback

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English

Routledge
30 June 2025

Tourism industry; Hospitality industry; Football (Soccer, Association football); World Cup

Series: Women, Sport and Physical Activity

This book offers an in-depth examination of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2023 FWWC, hosted in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. The 2023 FWWC was a landmark event in the history of women’s sport, in terms of audience, revenue, spectacle and global reach, and has assumed wider significance beyond sport as a result of controversial events immediately after the final game.

Featuring the work of leading researchers from around the world, the book examines some of the key issues that arose during and after the 2023 FWWC. It provides an international perspective on the politics of women’s football and explores topics including media, fandom, Indigeneity, legacy policies, tourism, and the organisational politics and strategies of international federations, as well as shedding light on the inherent sexism, gender inequalities, and biased media framings that remain pervasive in the women’s game.

This is the second book on the 2023 FWWC from the editorial team of Adam Beissel, Julie Brice, Andy Grainger and Verity Postlethwaite, and is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport studies, event studies, gender studies, sociology or political science.

Edited by: Adam Beissel (Miami University USA), Julie E. Brice (California State University Fullerton, USA), Verity Postlethwaite (Loughborough University, UK), Andrew Grainger (Western Sydney University, Australia)
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032830889
ISBN 10: 1032830883
Series: Women, Sport and Physical Activity
Pages: 310
Publication Date: 30 June 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Adam Beissel is an Associate Professor of Sport Leadership and Management at Miami University, USA. Adam’s research and scholarship interrogates the political economy of sport mega-events and the geopolitics of sport. In addition to his research on the 2023 Women’s World Cup, he is currently working on a research project exploring the geopolitics of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Julie E. Brice is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University Fullerton, USA. Julie’s research and scholarship focuses on the socio-cultural and political forces that impact women’s experiences of their moving bodies and across women’s sports more broadly. This includes explorations into women’s fitness practices and understandings of their bodies, professional women’s soccer and mega-events, and the use of posthumanist and new materialist theories for exploring fitness, sports, and physical culture. Verity Postlethwaite is a Lecturer in Strategic Event Management in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University, UK. Verity’s research and innovation projects focus on how events can be used as a catalyst for social and community changes. This includes examinations of gender inequalities, perceptions of disability, and geographical challenges across the life course and different facets of events hosted in the UK, Japan and Australia. Andrew Grainger is a Lecturer in Sport Development, Leisure, and Recreation at Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia. Andy’s research and teaching focuses on the critical, socio-historical analysis of sport, leisure, health, and physical culture. His current research projects explore the globalisation and political economy of football.

Reviews for Critical Perspectives on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Events, Issues, and Controversies

“Casts a light on intricate and complex experiences, identities, power, and material conditions of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, an important resource for actors working to address gender inequalities and to realise safe and inclusive football and sport broadly for girls and women in all their diversity.” Dr Lombe Mwambwa, Research Director, Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport, Switzerland. “Bringing together experts from various fields, this book offers a deep exploration of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, revealing the event's global significance and the evolution of women's football, making it a crucial read for those passionate about women's sports.” Professor Emma Sherry, School of Management, RMIT University, Australia. “Critical Perspectives on the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Events, Issues, Controversies represents diverse and international perspectives. It is a thoughtfully curated publication, critically examining a wide range of topics related to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2023. This thought-provoking volume will be of great value to sport scholars, students, and practitioners.” Professor Sally Shaw, School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand.