Football Australia backs Matildas pay push
A senior Football Australia executive has backed the Matildas’ demands for pay parity for female players and improvements to the FIFA prizemoney gap, as disputes between some teams and national federations threaten to derail their Women’s World Cup campaigns.
The Matildas have used Australia’s status as co-host of the FIFA Women’s World Cup to call out the discrepancy in male and female prizemoney and raise awareness about the pay conditions of other nations who will compete here.
Sarah Walsh, Football Australia’s head of women’s football and women’s World Cup legacy and inclusion, said it was important that FIFA paid female players.
“What I love about the players is that they’re advocating on behalf of markets that don’t have equal pay,” said Ms Walsh, a former Matilda.
“FIFA have… mandated that a portion of funding needs to go to player payments. I think that’s really important particularly for these debutants… who are starting to learn what it’s like on an international stage. We love the advocacy in this space.”
The debate over how much women should be paid to play soccer and how much prizemoney they should receive is a major focus leading into the World Cup, which begins in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday.
A collective bargaining agreement with Football Australia guarantees the Matildas get the same minimum percentage of prizemoney from tournaments as the Socceroos and the same conditions. But the pool of money they can win is vastly different.
The total $US152 million ($229.6 million) in prizemoney announced by FIFA for this year’s expanded tournament is much higher than the $US30 million shared by the 24 teams at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. FIFA is also paying players individual fees for the first time.
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