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FIFA World Cup Prize Money Disparity is an Obstacle to Equal Pay
At the heart of the problem is the significant disparity in prize money between men’s and women’s competitions, as well as the manner in which federations finally divide it to players.
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Despite the historic equal wage deal between U.S. Soccer and its men’s and women’s teams, World Cup prize money remains a contentious issue for equality in soccer.
The Decision of U.S. National Teams
The choice to divide prize money was taken by the U.S. national teams earlier this year, and it means that once the federation deducts its share, the money gained by competing in the sport’s most prestigious events would be divided equally among players for both teams. A huge step toward fairness outside of sports was made with this historic agreement. However, other nations haven’t followed suit. At the heart of the problem is the significant disparity in prize money between men’s and women’s competitions, as well as the manner in which federations finally divide it to players.
Prize Money for the 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup
The 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup will award $440 million in prizes. The winner from Qatar will be awarded $42 million in cash. The American ladies won $4 million of the $30 million prize money at the 2019 Ladies’ World Cup. The prize money for the 2023 competition has been suggested to be tripled by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, although there are now 32 teams competing.
That could change. The idea of increasing the overall cash prize for the women’s competition was recently put out by FIFA Secretary-General Fatma. The men’s World Cup presently provides funding for all FIFA events, including the women’s World Cup. She said at a Sydney event, “We have detected new income habits, nevertheless. While certain nations, like Australia, Ireland, Brazil, Norway, and others, have made significant progress toward equal match and endorsement deals, those agreements haven’t included an equal distribution of the combined World Cup prize money.
Providing Female Players with Greater Working Conditions
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The Spanish federation also consented in July to provide its female players with greater working conditions, income from sponsorships, image rights, and a share of incentives equivalent to the men’s team. It gave no further details. According to an associate professor of sport management, the players need supporters, the public must be in favor of it, and the women must be aligned in their demands.
That might be a challenging demand in nations like Germany and France, both have won the World Cup, given that the men’s squad would forego a significant payout. In order to win the 2018 World Cup in Russia, France distributed $11 million to its 23 players, earning a total of $38 million. Contrarily, the U.S. women have achieved greater success than the men, winning the last two World Cups. In 2018, the American men just weren’t successful in making it to the Russian tournament.
“If the (American) women keep performing better than the men, the males are not really hurt. Neirotti asserts that even if men receive more attention, women can still have an influence if they persevere. However, the economics are not necessarily the same in other countries when the men advance further in the competition and provide a larger reward pool. Therefore, it stands to reason that the economic effects of pairing that with women would likely harm men more severely than women.
Shouts of “Equal Pay”
Players like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Becky Sauerbrunn persistently advocated for pay fairness, inspiring shouts of “Equal Pay” at the World Cup final in France three years ago and winning the support of the general public. Then, after the federation’s stake, the women collaborated with the men’s union to reach a deal that gave both groups a higher portion of the total prize money.
The players on the World Cup rosters of the two sides will each get 10% of the money granted to each team after U.S. Soccer deducts its 10% cut. 20% of the funds allocated for the competitions in 2026 and 2027 will go to the USSF, and the remaining funds will be allocated in a similar manner.
Instead, Australia, which will share in hosting the 2023 Women’s World Cup, has urged FIFA to balance the prize money. If the team makes it to the knockout phase, the Socceroos, as they are referred to, will receive a portion of the prize money. However, the federation also intends to invest the money in a national women’s competition and a second-tier women’s league.
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