October 30: FIFA to double Women’s World Cup prize money, but fall short of gender equality.
In the 2023 finals in Australia and New Zealand, just over $100 million was on offer for teams. That number will double to $220 million for Brazil, about a third of what the men’s team from the USA, Mexico and Canada benefited from.
Last summer, FIFA claimed record revenue of $15 billion after hosting the 48-team 2026 World Cup, but the prize money, according to The Guardian and Sky. Next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil falls well short of the men’s equivalent, failing to meet the gender equality target that FIFA boss Gianni Infantino had set for the organisation. In this summer’s tournament, the men’s teams shared a prize pool of $655 million.
In 2023, when broadcast deals were struggling to close (most broadcasters believed they had already bought the rights with their Men’s World Cup purchases), Infantino hit out at the broadcasters, saying: “Our ambition would of course be to be able to have equality in payments for the 2026 Men’s and Women’s World Cups27.
“This is the goal we have set for ourselves. FIFA is stepping up with actions not just words…but unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone in the industry. Broadcasters and sponsors, dear friends, need to do more in this regard.”
Her complaint, just weeks before the start of the finals, failed to impress or move the commercial market, but it angered many who had generally invested more in the domestic women’s game than FIFA had invested in the international women’s game.
FIFA previously confirmed that the 2027 Women’s World Cup squads will receive the same preparation money as those who played in the men’s tournament. The money will double to $2.5 million per team.
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