Due to the World Cup, women’s football is in the global spotlight, as is the debate about equal pay. FIFA has made big promises for 2027 – but in many countries there are problems with the national associations.
Sunday (08/20/2023) will be the biggest day of the career for the players of the Spanish or English national team. This is not only because one of the teams becomes world champion for the first time. Each and every one of them will earn more money than ever before in their job as a footballer.
270,000 dollars (about 250,000 euros) will be awarded to each player for winning the final after FIFA raised the bonuses for women to a record level ahead of the tournament. Nevertheless, it must be said clearly: It is only a first step. Because the total of 100 million euros that the world association will pay out is still only a quarter of the 440 million euros that were given to the men in Qatar last year.
So there is still a long way to go before FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s promise to pay the same bonuses at the 2027 Women’s World Cup as at the 2026 Men’s World Cup.
Equal pay is Rapinoe’s greatest achievement
Female soccer players have been fighting for fair remuneration for many years. Women’s football is booming, at least since the World Cup worldwide. But if there are far too few players, that also has a financial impact. In the USA they have managed – contractually guaranteed by the national association – to be paid immediately. Overall, however, the situation there is not comparable to that of many other countries. For one thing, the four-time world champions are much more successful than their male US counterparts. On the other hand, according to Forbes, eleven of the 15 players who earn the most money each year were in the US squad at the World Cup.
For professionals like Megan Rapinoe or Alex Morgan – thanks to personal sponsors they earn millions of dollars a year – the increase in FIFA bonuses doesn’t seem like a big deal at first glance. But the statements by Rapinoe, who failed in the round of 16 with defending champion USA, show how important it is to them.
At a press conference, the 38-year-old was asked what the biggest success of her career in the national team was. “Of course playing in world championships and winning championships, but knowing that we used our very special talent to do something that really changed the world forever, that means the most to me,” said Rapinoe of the successful fight for equal pay.
FIFA with far-reaching changes
The topic of “equal pay” has been part of women’s football for a long time – and it will remain so for the foreseeable future. FIFA has committed to this with its promise for 2027, but it has also acted – not only on the awards for performance. Each player from the participating nations receives $30,000 for being there – more than many earn annually with football.
According to FIFA, the average annual salary for women is $14,000. The fact that she recognized the problem and acted herself made Almuth Schult happy. “The whole construct is rolling,” said the German national goalkeeper. It’s not just about money, it’s about equal treatment overall. And FIFA has also made promises: by 2027 at the latest, women would find the same conditions at the World Cup as the men did a year earlier.
Captain’s armbands a sign of the fight against injustice
The world association also wanted to make this visible in the current tournament. He designed several different colored captain’s armbands for the teams with slogans for a better world. One of them also deals with the issue of gender equality and reads “Unite for GENDER EQUALITY”. And just how much this effort is necessary was shown by a number of examples.
Jamaica and Nigeria at odds with their own associations
The Jamaican national team, with the help of reggae icon Bob Marley’s daughter, launched a crowdfunding campaign ahead of the tournament to raise funds for proper equipment. The support of their own national association was so low. “You can’t compare men’s and women’s football. On the one hand there is a world where a lot has happened over the years in terms of money, on the other hand a system that has just started,” said defender Allyson Swaby about the big one Difference. More attention, visibility and commitment are the levers that could attract more investment and create a virtuous cycle.
This also applies in Nigeria. The African team even turned to the players’ union FIFPRO to demand bonus payments and other expenses from their national association. According to this, some outstanding payments date back to 2021.
Gregorius: Players should get what they are entitled to
Among other things, the former New Zealand national player Sarah Gregorius is committed to the union worldwide for the players – accordingly now for the Nigerians. “They have to be paid for their services because it’s hard work and it has to be recognised. That’s their right too. These players have become absolute professionals, on and off the pitch. They give everything to play for Nigeria and then expect them also to be treated professionally,” she said in a Deutschlandfunk podcast.
Overall, many national associations “did not keep up with the professionalization of the players and their requirements,” said Gregorius. The footballers wanted what other employees are entitled to – and a healthy working atmosphere. “That includes being paid on time and being able to prepare for a tournament in the way a team of superstars should, playing for Barcelona, Madrid and the biggest clubs in the USA.”
“Equal Play” – fight for better framework conditions
For many, “equal pay” is not the most important fight. “Equal play” is mentioned by many as an even more important goal. US-born Nigeria international Ifeoma Onumonu, for example, complained about the unworthy football pitches Nigeria had to play on in preparation – rocky and full of bumps. The German national player Svenja Huth is also primarily committed to equal conditions: “We don’t look anywhere, but we fight for our issues. That has nothing to do with ‘equal pay’, but with ‘equal play’. The framework conditions should get even better , to further develop women’s football.”
In the Bundesliga, many players earn almost nothing
“The teams must have their own training area, their own changing room. That is the basis for being able to work professionally as an athlete,” Schult had also demanded. She was addressing the conditions in Germany, a country where women’s football is far better off than in nations like Jamaica and Nigeria. But even here, the conditions in many places have not yet been adapted to the rise of the sport – not even financially.
“For us it’s not about exhausting the millions like the men do. But you just have to get a little closer,” said Lina Magull. According to the DFB, the players in the league earn an average of 3,500 euros a month – but that includes top professionals like Alexandra Popp and Lena Oberdorf, who earn a five-digit amount. According to a Sportschau survey, a third of the players get a maximum of 500 euros a month, a quarter of the players are only reimbursed for travel expenses.
Neuendorf announces talks
DFB vice-president and ex-national player Celia Sasic therefore demands: “More and more girls and women are playing football and therefore they should also be given the same framework conditions.” This applies to the promotion of young talent and training on the pitch as well as to payment.
And the process seems to be underway. “I am ready to discuss in our committees whether our bonus system is still up-to-date or whether it should be adjusted,” said association president Bernd Neuendorf in July, but also qualified: “It must be considered that, despite the same activity, the markets always are still very different”. According to the DFB, the men’s national team earned more than 40 million euros last year, while the women’s national team lost 1.5 million euros.
Germany lags behind in Europe
That could also have been a reason why Neuendorf was not willing to guarantee the women’s team the same World Cup bonuses as the men. This is already a reality in Finland, England, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and in Norway national team players have had the same money since 2017. The German players would have received the FIFA bonus for the World Cup title, an increase to the 400,000 euros that would have been for the men last year was rejected by Neuendorf.
Australia with collective agreement – New Zealanders still disadvantaged
But not only in Germany is fought. The Australian women’s national team posted an impressive video ahead of the World Cup. “This is our legacy. We will do everything on the field to make our country proud,” it said. And to leave better conditions to those who “follow in our footsteps”. But the criticism there is not aimed at the national association, but at FIFA. Player Tameka Yallop explained in the video: “Collective bargaining has enabled us to now have the same conditions as the ‘Socceroos’ (the men’s national team, ed.), with one exception. FIFA offers the women for the same performance continues with only a quarter as much prize money as the men.”
The co-hosts New Zealand have had equal pay since 2018, but only for the national team. In addition, the same percentage of prize money sometimes means little. “The men have the higher prize money. In some tournaments we don’t get anything if we don’t go far enough,” said former international Maia Jackman. “40 percent of nothing is nothing. But at least there is now the same support for travel and resources.”
Minimum standard or collective agreement?
Whether FIFA, national associations or society – women’s football still has a lot of work to do on the way to “equal play” and “equal pay”. But how can it be achieved that the players are also treated fairly in their countries? “You could introduce a minimum standard that the associations have to meet every time the national team meets. That would be the regulatory way,” said Gregorius. The second option is a collective agreement with conditions for both sides. For her it is important “that you look from country to country to see what is most effective”.
The UN is also watching closely
However, Jennifer Cooper, head of women’s sport at the United Nations (UN), told Sky News: “In terms of equalizing wages, salaries and so on at the national level for all 211 national associations governed by FIFA, I think it will take a while.” She wants to control both the promises of the world association and the use of funds by the individual countries.
Cooper also called for more money to be put into women’s football. “I really hope that the World Cup will show federations at national level what it takes to actually have teams that can be successful. And that it’s not only right, it’s wise to support these women’s teams at national level .”
Source: with information from ARD correspondent Jennifer Johnston, Sydney
