The United States women’s team will receive more money for the round of 16 achieved by the men’s team in Qatar, than for having won the 2019 or 2015 World Cups. Specifically, they will receive about 5.5 million euros, when for winning the last World Cup in France only took a little less than 4 million.
But, why does the women’s team enter part of the money earned by the boys in the men’s World Cup? The answer lies in the historic equal pay agreement reached by the United States women’s team on May 18 and thanks to which the prize money of both teams is shared equally.
The United States has become the first federation in the world to equalize the awards of its two teams and the World Cup in Qatar was the first international event in which it has been put into practice. The men’s team was eliminated yesterday by the Netherlands (3-1), but for qualifying for the round of 16 they will receive 13 million dollars, just over 12 million euros. According to the agreement, the Federation keeps 10% and the rest is divided equally between the men’s and women’s teams, so each one will receive about 5.5 million euros.
Despite the fact that the distribution is equitable within the federation, the cash prizes from organizations such as FIFA or UEFA are still not. The United States has won the last two women’s World Cups and adding their winnings in both tournaments, the figure is practically the same as the one they will receive for the boys’ qualification for the round of 16.
In the last World Cup in France, in 2019, the prize was 4 million dollars, while in Canada it was 2 million. The previous two editions barely reached one million euros for the winning team. The amounts of the prizes for the next World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which will be held in July 2023, have not yet been announced, but the president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino anticipated that they hope to “at least double” those of 2019, confirming the upward trend of recent tournaments. Even so, the 8 million dollars we are talking about would still be light years from the 42 that the winner of the World Cup in Qatar will receive and would even continue below the 9 million that each team has received just for reaching the group stage. in this men’s World Cup.
