The BBC and ITV have agreed a last-minute deal with FIFA ensuring that the Women's World Cup will be shown on free-to-air television in the UK.

The status of the tournament's UK transmission had been in doubt after FIFA president Gianni Infantino attempted to force Europe's top broadcasters to pay significantly more for the rights, bringing them closer to parity with the amount paid for the men's tournament.

Now a deal has been signed that will see all 64 games being shown on either the BBC or ITV, with both networks airing the final simultaneously.

The Women's World Cup - featuring 32 teams for the first time, including European champions England - is being held jointly in Australia and New Zealand starting from next month.

"We have shown every Women's World Cup on the BBC since 1999 and we are happy to extend our partnership with FIFA for the upcoming tournament," said Barbara Slater, the BBC's director of sport.

"The growth of the women's game is extraordinary, demonstrated by the 28 million who watched BBC coverage of the 2019 Women's World Cup and the huge audience of 17.4 million who watched our coverage of the Euro 2022 final last summer. In partnership with ITV we are delighted to make this World Cup available to the widest possible audience and free to air."

ITV's sport head Niall Sloane added: "We're delighted to be able to bring comprehensive coverage of the Women's World Cup, free to air to our audiences with both live and highlights broadcasts across ITV and ITVX.

"This tournament promises to provide memorable moments with the popularity of women's football continuing to grow.

"England's Lionesses are entering the World Cup Finals as European champions and fans have been able to follow their progress to qualification on ITV through our coverage of the World Cup qualifiers, so we hope they'll join us to see all the action from Australia and New Zealand throughout the tournament."

The Lionesses, who have been drawn in a group with China, Denmark and Haiti, will play their first game in Brisbane on July 22.