FIFA chief passes the buck of Women's World Cup pay amid Lionesses FA issue

19 July 2023 , 07:50

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Gianni Infantino has shied away from the issue of equal pay (Image: Getty Images)

Gianni Infantino has confirmed FIFA will distribute prize money to federations rather than oversee direct payments to footballers.

The news will come as a blow to the 736 players completing at the Women's World Cup, which starts in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday. FIFA had previously promised that every player competing in the tournament would be paid at least $30,000 (£23,150).

That is a life-changing amount of money for dozens of players, as the global average salary for female footballers is just $14,000 (£10,800). For example, not all of the players in the A-League Women - Australia's top flight - are fully professional.

The global players' union, FIFPRO, has previously asked FIFA to guarantee that 30 per cent of the prize money would go to those competing in the tournament. Many players have also complained about the gender disparity in World Cup prize money.

"We have issued recommendations but we are an association of associations," Infantino told reporters. "So whatever payments we do will be through the associations, and then the associations will make the relevant payments to their own players.

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"But we are in touch with all the associations, and there are all different situations in different parts of the world - taxation, residence and so on - which require special agreements that are agreements for some associations with the players from before, of course. So, I think we have been taking some groundbreaking decisions and it's far from the end of the story."

FIFA's unwillingness to pay players directly will leave many of the 736 footballers concerned about receiving their $30,000. Infantino was asked how FIFA would audit the situation. He replied: "More than auditing or monitoring, it's engaging.

"We engage with the associations around the world because, I joke sometimes that we cannot artificially print the money. If we could, that would be nice, but at the end we can distribute, we can pay what we generate. So it's impossible to ask them to do more if they generate less, right?"

FIFA has increased the prize money at the Women's World Cup from $30million (£23.2m) in 2019 to $110m (£84.9m) in 2023. Yet that is still significantly less than the prize money available at last year's Men's World Cup, $440m (£339.6m)

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Infantino has previously said that FIFA's aim is for equal prize money to be offered in their men's and women's tournaments by 2027. But this is a non-committal aim.

FIFA's stance comes amid a bonus dispute between the Football Association and the England team. The Lionesses have expressed their "disappointment" at the situation but will focus on football for the time being, with their opening game just days away.

England, who won the Euros last year, face Haiti in Brisbane on Saturday. "With our opening game on the horizon, we Lionesses have decided to pause discussions, with full intentions of revisiting them following the tournament," said captain Millie Bright.

Tom Blow