MELBOURNE, April 2 (Reuters) - Women's Asian Cup finalists Australia and Japan said on Thursday the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had ignored an invitation to address gender pay inequality before the record-breaking tournament.
The women's teams also called on global governing body FIFA to meet its equal prizemoney target for the men's and women's World Cups.
The 12 nations at the quadrennial Asian Cup hosted by Australia competed for a prize pool of $1.8m, about 12% of the total for the 2023 men's Asian Cup in Qatar.
It was the lowest prize money among women's continental competitions in recent years, barely half of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations pool ($3.47m).
"Despite the success of this tournament, it remains the lowest-paying continental tournament in the world and inequality between the men’s and women's game remains," the Australia and Japan women's teams said in a statement.
"Our pre-tournament invitation to the AFC to work together on equal prize money, a guaranteed share to all players, and to co-develop a lasting legacy has so far been ignored."
The AFC declined to comment.
The governing body has taken steps to develop the women's game, including launching the Women's Champions League in 2024, but critics say progress has been uneven and prizemoney remains a key issue.
The June 11-July 19 men's World Cup prize pool is $727 million for the 48 nations competing in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The 32-nation Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 had a pool of $110 million.
In 2023, FIFA president Gianni Infantino set a target for gender parity in prize money at the next World Cups.
Brazil hosts the next women's tournament in 2027.
"As we look forward, we expect FIFA to honour its pledge of equal prize money for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup and we will continue to fight for equality and respect for women players across our region," Australia and Japan said.
The Women's Asian Cup smashed the tournament's attendance records, with the final won by Japan drawing a crowd of 74,397 to Sydney's Stadium Australia.
But the tournament also highlighted players' frustration with gender inequality in funding.
South Korea's players threatened last year to boycott the Asian Cup over conditions.
India's women were sent undersized kits made for junior teams at the tournament, sending staff scrambling to get them made locally.
"This tournament was also played against a backdrop of real challenges that the AFC and the players need to work in partnership to address," Australia and Japan said.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
