The upcoming 2023 Women’s World Cup prize money is set to receive a major financial boost. ESPN reports that the tournament in Australia and New Zealand will feature a $150 million purse. This would be an increase of around 300% compared to the 2019 contest in France.
It is clearly good news that the Women’s World Cup generates much more revenue. After all, the 2019 tournament had $30 million in prize money and the 2015 contest had around $15 million. However, the $150 million purse for the 2023 Women’s World Cup is still considerably behind the $440 million prize money for the Men’s World Cup in Qatar.
FIFA boss says media rights deals are to blame
Newly re-elected FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that some of that money should be allocated to players. ESPN claims that $110m will be for actual prize money, $31m will go to tournament preparation, and then $11m will go to club benefits.
Infantino also put most of the blame for the disparity between men’s and women’s tournaments on media rights. The FIFA boss has suggested that the current prices for Women’s World Cup broadcast deals are far too low. “Women deserve much, much more than this, and we are here to fight for them and with them,” Infantino said.
Women’s national teams fight for equal pay outside the World Cup
Women’s national team players around the world have rallied for equal pay to their male counterparts. The United States House of Representatives has already passed a bill to help close the pay gap between the USWNT and the USMNT. Canada’s National Women’s Team also recently went on strike over lack of funding.
Infantino is aiming for equal pay for the men’s and women’s teams for the next round of World Cups. This would be implemented in 2026 and 2027 respectively. Nevertheless, this seems like a difficult objective given the current size of the pay gap. The next Men’s World Cup will also be expanded to 48 teams.
PHOTO : IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
