Bareman: FIFA takes positive steps in women's game strategy

"It was interesting for me to see a little bit of the commentary that kind of came along with that announcement, I know a lot of people kind of thought that it was a last-minute decision coming from FIFA, but I can confirm that that was absolutely not the case at all," Bareman said. "We need to make sure that these things are done well when they're introduced and the spotlight is on women's football this summer in France."

FIFA also pledged to increase total prize money for the event to $30 million. The champion US team earned $2 million of a $15 million pool for the 2015 World Cup. Among other changes: FIFA is also contributing to the cost of pre-tournament training for teams for the first time, and the organization said it would hold a public vote on the bid for the next World Cup.

It should be noted that the French men's team earned $38 million of a $400 million pool for winning the World Cup in Russia, so the differences are still quite significant. FIFA has also been blasted for scheduling the women's World Cup on the same day as the Copa America final in Rio de Janeiro and the CONCACAF Gold Cup final in Chicago.

Ellis pointedly said: "In my own personal opinion, playing three big matches in one day isn't supporting the women's game. So, there you go."

Bareman understands the task in front of her, and part of it is helping the member federations understand the women's game represents an area of growth — even in developing nations.

"If you compare — and I don't like to compare, to be honest, the men's and women's game — but when we look at where the men's game is in terms of commercialization, I mean it's almost fully saturated now," she said. "And then you see how far the women's game is away from getting there, it presents the opportunities that exist. And there's no better time to take advantage of those opportunities in the summer at the Women's World Cup."

FIFA's Women's Football Strategy is a five-pronged program that has a lofty goal of doubling women's participation in the game worldwide by 2026. A key component will be ensuring all associations have comprehensive women's plans in place by 2022.

The initiative includes having a woman on the executive committee of all 211 member associations by 2026. The governing body also wants women making up one third of its committee members, up from the current requirement of one per panel.

Bareman said a key piece of the strategy is promotion. What starts at the World Cup, she believes, will eventually boost the game overall, not just at the elite level.

"I guess in a nutshell there's no magic pill that can make the difference. It's really something that I believe we have to address the whole landscape, and the strategy that we created addresses five areas or the five pillars and they cut across all levels of the women's game," she said. "Whether you're in Germany, whether you're in the Pacific region, or New Zealand or Africa, we have to address all five areas or the entire ecosystem to make a sustainable impact."

AP