FIFA Moves To Double Women’s World Cup Prize Money As Pay Gap Persists

FIFA is preparing to double at least the prize money for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, in a move aimed at improving financial rewards for participating nations, although equal payments with the men’s competition remain out of reach.

The FIFA administration is expected to present the proposal at the organisation’s next meeting in December, with the planned increase requiring approval from the full FIFA Council.

A source confirmed the development to ESPN, adding that the proposed adjustment would represent another significant step towards improving the financial structure of women’s international football.

Despite the anticipated increase, the total prize money for the women’s tournament is expected to remain below the amount awarded at the men’s World Cup, highlighting the continuing financial disparity between the two competitions.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino had previously expressed his ambition to achieve equal payments for the 2026 Men’s World Cup and the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

“Our ambition would be, of course, to be able to have equality in payments for the 2026 men’s and 2027 Women’s World Cup,” Infantino said in 2023.

“This is the objective we set to ourselves. FIFA is stepping up, but unfortunately this is not the case for everyone across the industry. Broadcasters and sponsors have to do more in this respect, for FIFA, for the confederations, for the member associations, for everyone.”

Infantino also criticised the disparity in commercial offers for the two competitions, arguing that broadcasters and sponsors needed to do more to support the growth of women’s football.

The 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand featured a record financial package of $150 million, representing a 300 per cent increase on the 2019 edition.

Of that amount, $110 million was allocated as direct prize money, while the remainder covered preparation funds for participating teams and club benefits.

FIFA has also confirmed an increase in preparation funding for countries participating in the 2027 tournament.

Each participating national association will receive $2.5 million in preparation money, matching the amount provided to competing countries at the 2026 Men’s World Cup.

According to FIFA, the funds will be made available by December 2026 to enable participating nations to strengthen their preparations ahead of the tournament.

The planned increase is expected to provide additional financial support for national teams, particularly those whose women’s football programmes operate with limited resources.

However, the gap in overall prize money between the men’s and women’s competitions remains a major issue in the push for financial equality in international football.

One notable example of progress towards equal pay is the United States, where the men’s and women’s national teams share World Cup prize money equally under collective bargaining agreements ratified by US Soccer in 2022.

The arrangement provides a model for addressing disparities in international football remuneration, although achieving similar structures across FIFA’s 211 member associations remains a challenge.

With the 2027 Women’s World Cup approaching, FIFA’s proposed prize-money increase represents another step in its efforts to strengthen the women’s game.

However, the organisation faces growing expectations to translate its public commitment to equality into a financial structure that places the women’s competition on a comparable footing with the men’s tournament.