In October, a group of 150 football players asked the world football association FIFA to equalize the prize money at the World Cup next summer with that of the men at the World Cup in Qatar. Players’ union FIFPRO confirmed this to the American news agency on Wednesday AP.
The FIFPRO says negotiations are currently underway with FIFA. It was not disclosed who signed the letter. According to The Wall Street Journal it concerns internationals from Germany, the United States and Norway, among others. The Netherlands is not mentioned.
At the World Cup for men in Qatar, 416 million euros in prize money was paid out to the 32 participants last year. The differences with women are immense. Only world champion Argentina received more prize money (40 million euros) than was distributed in total at the last edition of the Women’s World Cup in 2019: 28 million euros.
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino announced at the time that the prize money at the Women’s World Cup would be “at least” doubled for the upcoming edition in Australia and New Zealand. Four months before the start of the global final tournament, the prize money is not yet known.
According to The Wall Street Journal the one hundred and fifty players have not only asked for equal pay. They also want equal treatment in the size of the staff and the quality of the training and hotel facilities around World Cups.
Orange players receive equal premiums
In women’s football there has been a discussion about equal pay between men and women for some time. It was also a long-standing topic of conversation at Oranje. Last year, the KNVB came across the bridge by leveling the basic premiums for the players with the men.
Director Jan Dirk van der Zee of the KNVB spoke of a “historic milestone”. The male internationals do receive more money because they receive more money from commercial activities.
That is why Van der Zee called on UEFA and FIFA to increase prize money at European and World Cups. “If I were the boss of FIFA, I would have always kept the premiums the same,” Van der Zee told NU.nl. “Just like it happens in tennis.”
So far, the American Football Association is the only one that divides prize money equally between men and women at final tournaments. Recently Canada’s internationals went on strike to do the same. The Canadian Football Association defused the rebellion and came up with a financial proposal, but it was deemed “disrespectful” by the players’ union.