FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura visited Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau Monday evening to speak at the EQUALIZE: The State of Play event organised by New Zealand Story. The event was the finale of the EQUALIZE speaker series which happened across Aotearoa New Zealand throughout the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™.

Celebrating women in sport, business, culture and society, the discussion series was produced to showcase New Zealand’s role in driving gender equity globally and was funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Samoura participated in a Q&A with CNN reporter Amanda Davies, before joining fellow panellists Dame Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Natalie Portman, Academy Award winner, activist and football enthusiast, and Ruby Tui, rugby star and Olympic gold medallist.

In her interview, Samoura touched on the success of the 2023 tournament as “one of the best, the most inclusive, the most powerful, the most spectacular, the most thrilling and the most unexpected”, the progress of women’s football globally and her own personal journey since joining FIFA. This edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup saw big steps forward when it comes to gender equity with prize money increased to USD 110 million and a doubling of preparation money allocated to participating Member Associations. For the first time, players enjoyed equal conditions and services to those at Qatar 2022™ with the number of delegates, the level of travel, standard of accommodation, team base camps and facilities all delivered to the same level as the men in 2022. The 2023 edition will be the first FIFA Women’s World Cup to break even, a first step in the sustainable development of the women’s game.

On a global scale there has been a significant shift towards a more female-focused game with 188 of FIFA’s 211 Member Associations having an active women’s national team, 40% of FIFA staff now women, and 11 women heading their respective Member Associations. Following Samoura’s interview, she joined Ardern, Portman and Tui in a panel discussion that touched on their personal career, and how they have used their platform and sport – especially football – to drive change in society. Samoura said the EQUALIZE speaker series was an important vehicle in helping to inspire the nation to continue the fight for gender equity.

“The EQUALIZE speaker series is a wonderful initiative to showcase New Zealand’s role in gender equity and I feel honoured to be able to speak in the first country to have allowed women to vote in parliamentary elections, alongside incredible women such as Dame Jacinda Ardern, Natalie Portman and Ruby Tui,” said Samoura. “FIFA and the FIFA Women’s World Cup have been important drivers of change so to be able to share our stories and successes is an important step in inspiring others to do the same. “It is important to reflect and recognise the achievements of a tournament, which already went beyond greatness, so we can see how far we have come. This in turn allows us to plan for how much further we want to go in the future.”