7 June 2019

HUBLOT, PROUD OFFICIAL TIMEKEEPER OF THE FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP FRANCE 2019™

Hublot referee board

From 7 June to 7 July, France hosts one month of competition, 52 matches and 24 teams, all battling it out in 9 stadiums around the country. One year after the French men's team secured victory, football is attracting increasing numbers of female spectators, and the 8th FIFA Women's World Cup™ will certainly draw in many new supporters. The semi-finals are set to take place on 2 and 3 July, with the final on 7 July in Lyon. As the Official Timekeeper of the 2019 edition of the tournament, Hublot is showing its support for women's football. It is a way for the ambitious watch manufacturer to demonstrate its conviction and enthusiasm for women's football, despite the sport having existed for some one hundred years.

“Since the French men's team won in Russia, the number of female French Football Federation members has risen by 15%, an incredible amount in less than a year. We are enthusiastically supporting the sport because we share fundamental values. To dare is often to believe in future successes. The FIFA Women's World Cup is set to change the image of solely male fans, attract women to the terraces and, who knows, perhaps result in future players just as talented as our professional footballer friends.”

Ricardo Guadalupe

CEO of HUBLOT

Three female professional football players are already counted as friends of the brand. Former French international player Laure Boulleau – left-back defender for PSG – who has coached the Bordeaux team for almost a year; American international women's football star Alex Morgan, who is a striker for Orlando Pride; young Norwegian international footballer Ada Hegerberg who plays as a striker for Olympique Lyonnais and whose older sister Andrine Hegerberg plays for PSG.

Unexpectedly, the first football match to be played in France by women dates back to the First World War. A women's football championship was even created two years later, in 1919. The French Football Federation officially founded it in 1970 – 50 years later. Today, of 2.2 million members, 165,000 are women (compared to 54,000 eight years ago). The FIFA Women's World Cup™ will undoubtedly play an accelerating role for the media, women and the general public.