November 6 – Women’s national team players are preparing possible legal action against FIFA if they do not receive the same proportional awards at next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
In September, the world players’ union FIFPRO and representatives from 45 countries, including Spain, England and the USWNT, wrote to FIFA demanding parity.
The letter calls for “an equal share of prize money for the men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups”, minimum standards for women’s national teams and “a binding global collective agreement between FIFA and FIFPRO”. She adds: “As players of the national team, we want to leave women’s football in better shape than we found it.”
In 2023, Gianni Infantino set an “ambition” of equal pay by 2027, but nothing binding has been agreed.
The gap remains wide. The 2023 tournament paid a record $110 million in prize money plus $40 million in preparation and club payments. This is expected to more than double Brazil, but still leaves around $230 million for proportional equality. FIFA paid $871 million to the men’s tournament this summer.
Sources at one national union said they are prepared to go to court without a “clear commitment to gender equality” and are talking to several other unions. They cite Article 23 of FIFA’s Code of Ethics on discrimination and argue that FIFA, with projected reserves of $6 billion, can afford it. FIFPRO itself would not bring the case, having agreed in June to drop all legal action against FIFA.
In a joint statement, FIFA and FIFPRO said they were working “collaboratively” and that formal letters were “a normal part of the dialogue”. They said they are negotiating new terms for 2027, including, for the first time, payments to associations and players who took part in qualifying.
“Our ambition includes matching awards, but also goes much further,” the statement said. “Both organizations are positive about the progress made in the discussions so far.”
Contact the writer of this story at (email protected)
