Friday 19 / April / 2024
Lyon: Following the US women’s national team’s successful world title defence on Sunday, fans defiantly chanted “Equal pay” and directed boos at FIFA president Gianni Infantino as he took the stage at Stade de Lyon for the awards and trophy presentation of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, in protest against the outrageous income discrepancies between men’s and women’s football globally.
“I think everyone is ready for this conversation to move to the next step,” USWNT star Megan Rapinoe said, in reaction to the chants and boos. “I think we’re done with the ‘are we worth it? Should we have equal pay? ... Everyone is done with that - fans are done with that, players are done with that, in a lot of ways I think sponsors and everyone is done with that. Let’s get to the next point of what’s next, how do we support women’s federation and women’s programmes around the world?”
As champions of the world, the Americans bagged $4 million in cash prize, while their French male counterparts took home a staggering $38 million last year. In other words, the champions from the men’s world cup received more than the total prize money in the women’s tournament, which is $30 million.
Even though Infantino announced two days before the WWC final in Lyon that FIFA will double it’s investment in the women’s game, the world football governing body’s commitment is still very far from enough.
There is the plan to increase the prize pool of the women’s World Cup to $60 million in 2023 but that does not in anyway diminish the existing huge pay gap as that of the men, which was $400 million in Russia last year, has been set at $440 million for Qatar. So while the women are toiling to catch up, the men are moving farther away and this is not helping.
But as Rapinoe noted, women players obviously pushed the conversation to a whole new hard-to-ignore level in France with top-notch performances that attracted incredible viewing figures from different parts of the world.
“We as players, every player at this World Cup, put on the most incredible show that you could ever ask for. We cannot do anything more to impress more, to be better ambassadors, to take on more, to play better or do anything. It’s time to take it forward to the next step. A little public shame never hurts anybody, right? I’m down with the boos,” she concluded.
Prior to the World Cup on March 8 - International Women’s Day, to be precise - 28 members of the USWNT filed a lawsuit against the country’s football federation in U.S. District Court, alleging they are paid less than the men even when their consistency in churning out impressive performances has “translated into substantial revenue generation and profits” for the federation.
And according to The Washington Post, the women’s games have generated about $900,000 more revenue than the men’s games from fiscal 2016 to 2018.
Also speaking on the issue of equal pay, USA defender Ali Krieger, who didn’t really hear the “Equal pay” chants, is glad that they have been able to gain more allies on women’s football’s biggest stage.. “I’m so happy that they support us in that way. That everyone is here for a common goal. That’s just getting what we deserve and I’m really passionate about it. I’m really inspired because we just love to play this game but we also understand we have other responsibilities to uphold like being a role model for people who maybe don’t have a voice, to use our platform for not only football but for important issues that are hapening around us in our country and around the world. We are willing to fight and I think we use our platforms in a healthy, positive way, and I’m so happy to hear that it’s inspiring others to do the same.”
In a study conducted by The Guardian on the pay discrepancies between the men’s and women’s US teams, it was discovered that the maximum World Cup bonus earnings for a USWNT player is $261,000 if they win the title, while a USMNT player could earn as much as $1.1 million for achieving the same feat.
In April, LUNA Bar, in its quest to promote equal pay for equal work, promised to pay the 23 members of this year’s US World Cup squad $31,250 each to make up for the disparity in roster bonuses awarded to the men’s team.
On Tuesday, a senior United States Senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, took a legislative stand in the quest for equal pay for the USWNT. He introduced a bill that would prevent "any and all" federal funding for the 2026 World Cup - the men's tournament that the United States is scheduled to host - unless the US Soccer Federation agrees to pay its men's and women's teams equally.
Another World Cup has come and gone, a countdown to the next has begun, but the cry for equal pay is louder and the fight to achieve it has been further intensified by France 2019, a tournament that has made more people listen and join in the conversation.
