Women’s World Cup prize money triples but still lags behind men’s tournament

Prize money at the upcoming women’s football World Cup will triple but still lag behind what was on offer at the men’s tournament in Qatar last year, highlighting a persistent gender disparity in sport winnings.

Fifa, world football’s governing body, said that the $152mn sum — comprising prize money, funding for teams and payments to clubs — is three times the total at the 2019 women’s World Cup in France.

The prize fund at the equivalent men’s competition in 2022 totalled $440mn, with an additional $209mn shared with clubs of players participating in the tournament, according to Fifa’s annual report.

Fifa has highlighted the women’s game as “the single biggest growth opportunity in football today”. The gap in prize money, however, shows how it has played second fiddle for decades.

Addressing Fifa’s Congress meeting in Rwanda, president Gianni Infantino said the governing body’s aim is to have equal payments at the 2026 men’s and 2027 women’s World Cups.

However, he warned that Fifa’s partners must also play their part in the road to equality, pointing out that broadcasters had offered substantially less money to broadcast the women’s World Cup than what they pay to screen the men’s competition.

“Fifa is stepping up with actions, and not just words,” said Infantino. “Unfortunately, this is not the case of everyone across the industry. Broadcasters and sponsors have to do more.”

Infantino added that the prize money would be separated between players and football federations, to help fund future development of the women’s game.

Australia and New Zealand are hosting this year’s women’s World Cup, which will kick off in July and conclude with the final in Sydney the following month. The US won the 2019 edition of the women’s tournament, which was watched by more than 1.1bn people, according to Fifa.

The prize money boost comes ahead of an expanded World Cup, which will be contested by 32 teams, up from the 24-team competition four years ago.

Fifpro, the players’ union, welcomed the increase in prize money for the women’s World Cup and reiterated that “the pathway to full equality remains of paramount importance”.

“We await further details from Fifa as we continue to advance the interests of the players and broader industry towards a more professional game for all,” it said.

The prize money figure was confirmed as Infantino was re-elected to serve as Fifa president for another four years. No other candidates emerged to challenge him.

Fifa said it had held talks with Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority over sponsorship of the women’s tournament but that these did not materialise in a deal. Players, human rights groups and football bodies in the host countries had been critical of a potential deal.