FILE PHOTO: The FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy is pictured during an event at Summit at One Vanderbilt observatory in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Each player at the Women's World Cup will be guaranteed at least $30,000 after a ground-breaking move by FIFA to disburse some of the prize money to individuals rather than national federations.
All 23 members of the winning team will take home $270,000, part of a $110 million total prize pool that is roughly 300% higher than what FIFA offered for the 2019 tournament.
The $30,000 minimum directed prize money is more than twice the average salary of $14,000 for paid players surveyed in FIFA's 2022 benchmarking report.
In March, FIFA President Gianni Infantino pledged at the FIFA Congress that organisers would direct prize money toward the players, a first for the women's tournament, which kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
For the upcoming Women's World Cup, member associations will also receive increased funding based on performance, with winners taking $4.29 million home and delegations earning $1.56 million for participating in the group stage.
The total performance-based prize funds still significantly trail what was the on the offer at the men's tournament last year, where $440 million total prize fund was awarded.
FIFA has made it clear to national federations that it expects that the amount retained by member associations will be reinvested in their footballing activities, including coaching staff, grassroots projects, youth national teams and women’s football capacity-building programmes.
FIFPRO said the news "represents not only the outcome of tremendous global collective action by 150 national team players... but a constructive negotiation with FIFA over the past months."
"The have listened to the voice of the players and we have taken steps toward greater gender equity in our game at the highest levels," the global soccer players union said in a statement.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York and Lori Ewing; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
