An end to the row over the BBC and ITV showing the FIFA Women's World Cup is said to be close ©Getty Images

A deal is reportedly close between FIFA and British broadcasters to show this year's FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, after the governing body's President Gianni Infantino warned it could be one of the countries facing a television blackout due to "very disappointing" offers.

The tournament is just over five weeks away from beginning on July 20, but broadcast deals have still not been finalised in five of football's leading European nations in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Spain.

FIFA has sold broadcasting rights for its Women's World Cup separately to the men's for the first time, and a row over the value of deals in the five countries has rumbled on for months.

In May, International Olympic Committee member in Switzerland Infantino claimed offers from the "Big Five" European countries were "20 to 100 times lower than for the men's World Cup" and threatened "we will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women's World Cup into the 'Big Five' European countries".

The five Sports Ministers in the countries concerned urged FIFA and broadcasters to "quickly reach an agreement".

Reports have suggested the UK is the closest of the five to striking a broadcasting deal, and Bloomberg claims an agreement worth between $9 million (£7.1 million/€8.3 million) and $10 million (£7.9 million/€9.3 million) with public-service broadcasters the British Broadcasting Corporation and ITV.

England's Women's Euro 2022 victory attracted an audience of 17.4 million in the UK ©Getty Images
England's Women's Euro 2022 victory attracted an audience of 17.4 million in the UK ©Getty Images

This would still dwarf the estimated £159.1 million ($200.3 million/€185.4 million) BBC and ITV package for last year's men's World Cup in Qatar, amounting to around five to six per cent of that deal.

insidethegames has asked the BBC, ITV and FIFA for a comment.

Bloomberg reported that bids from the five nations had previously totalled just one to two per cent of the amount paid for Qatar 2022.

European champions England are the only one of the four UK nations who qualified for the Women's World Cup, which has expanded to 32 teams for the first time.

FIFA reported that 1.12 billion views tuned into the last Women's World Cup in France in 2019, and in the UK England's semi-final defeat to eventual winners the United States attracted an audience of 11.7 million.

A peak of 17.4 million watched England beat Germany in the UEFA Women's European Championship final on the BBC last year.

This year's Women's World Cup is due to run from July 20 to August 20, with ticket sales reported to have exceeded one million.