FIFA President Gianni Infantino has congratulated all five international continental women’s champions, following a record-breaking month of international football. Writing on LinkedIn, he praised the champions of five confederations – after the line-up of winners was completed following Brazil and England’s victories in their respective finals.

The FIFA President wrote: “My congratulations go to champions the United States, South Africa, Brazil, Papua New Guinea and England on winning their respective tournaments, and to all of the teams who secured their ticket for FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, or the play-off tournament to be held in February. Now we continue the countdown to next year’s tournament as we aim to take women’s football #BeyondGreatness in 2023.” Led by the winner of The Best FIFA Women’s Coach 2020, Sarina Wiegman, England’s women won their first-ever major trophy on Sunday, with a 2-1 victory against Germany in the final of the UEFA Women’s EURO England 2022 at Wembley Stadium – a game played in front of a record 87,192 people, with 17 million more turning in at home in the UK alone.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Brazil claimed their eighth Copa América Femenina title, with a 1-0 victory against host nation Colombia. With record-breaking crowds cheering the host nation on throughout the tournament, and the gap closing to the traditionally dominant Brazil, the 2023 edition of the Copa América Femenina has also been regarded as an overwhelming success. Also in July, like England, Papua New Guinea and South Africa claimed their first continental trophies. Papua New Guinea secured their title with a 2-1 win over Fiji in the final of the OFC Women’s Nations Cup 2022, while South Africa triumphed over Morocco by the same scoreline in the 2022 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final. Elsewhere, USA were crowned Concacaf W Championship winners following a 1-0 win against Canada.

Accelerating the development of the women’s game – and increasing global competitiveness - forms a key part of President Infantino’s Vision 2020-23 to make football truly global. With three nations being crowned continental champions for the first time, and record-breaking crowds and viewing figures across the world, the FIFA President praised the continued growth of the women’s game and complimented the organisers – and looked ahead with excitement to the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup. “Now we have less than a year to wait until the start of FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023,” the FIFA President continued. “It has been fantastic to follow continental women’s championships organised by Concacaf, Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF), CONMEBOL, Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and UEFA in recent weeks. Through these continental championships we have seen a number of teams seal their places at next year's tournament, which will be the biggest and best FIFA Women’s World Cup to date with 32 nations taking part.”