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150 Women's National Team Players Urge FIFA for Equal World Cup Prize Money

 150 Women's National Team Players Urge FIFA for Equal World Cup Prize Money



The global professional soccer players' union, FIFPro, has announced that it has sent a letter signed by 150 women's national team players to FIFA calling for equal World Cup prize money. The letter also requested equal treatment and conditions for women's teams playing in soccer's most prestigious tournament. FIFPro confirmed that the letter was sent to the sport's international governing body in October 2022, a month before the start of the men's World Cup in Qatar.


FIFPro stated that it is currently negotiating with FIFA on behalf of the players. The organization did not provide a copy of the letter, and the players' names who signed it were not disclosed. FIFA still needs to respond to the request for comment.


As the Women's World Cup is set to take place this summer in Australia and New Zealand, calls for FIFA to address the gender pay disparity in prize money have been growing louder. Currently, winning teams at the men's World Cup receive a significantly larger share of the prize pool than their female counterparts. For example, Argentina earned $42 million out of a prize pool of $440 million for winning the men's World Cup in Qatar. In comparison, the U.S. women's national team won only $4 million out of a prize pool of $30 million for winning the 2019 Women's World Cup in France.


To address this issue, the U.S. men's and women's national teams have reached historic collective bargaining agreements, stipulating that they will equally share the prize money won at the World Cup after U.S. Soccer takes a percentage off the top. Currently, U.S. Soccer is the only federation that evenly distributes World Cup prize money. However, the Canadian women's national team has called for a similar provision in ongoing negotiations for a new labor agreement with Canada Soccer.


With an expanded field of 32 teams, up from 24 in France, the Women's World Cup has the potential to draw an even larger global audience this summer. It is essential that FIFA addresses the gender pay disparity in prize money and provides equal treatment and conditions for women's teams playing in soccer's most prestigious tournament. The prize pool for the women's tournament this summer has yet to be set, but fans and players alike hope that FIFA will take action to ensure that women's teams are compensated fairly for their hard work and dedication to the sport.


The call for equal prize money for men's and women's soccer teams is not new. It has been a longstanding issue and one that the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated. According to the Wall Street Journal, before the pandemic, FIFA planned to increase the women's tournament prize money to $60 million this summer. However, the pandemic disrupted those plans, and it remains to be seen whether the prize pool for the women's tournament will be increased.


The unequal distribution of prize money has been a major point of contention for women's soccer teams for many years. The disparity is even starker when considering that the women's tournament is significantly smaller than the men's. The men's World Cup features 32 teams and lasts for one month, while the women's World Cup has just 24 teams and lasts for three weeks.


In recent years, women's soccer has gained more attention and respect, and female players are increasingly recognized for their talents and achievements. The call for equal prize money for men's and women's soccer teams is an essential step towards achieving true equality in the sport and ensuring that female players are valued and respected in the same way as their male counterparts.


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