Women’s national soccer team players demand equal World Cup prize money in letter to FIFA signed by 150 players

The global union of professional soccer players says it has sent a letter signed by 150 female national team players to FIFA demanding equal prize money for the World Cup.

FIFPro confirmed the letter, which also calls for equal treatment and conditions for women’s teams at football’s most prestigious tournament, was sent to the sport’s international governing body in October – a month before the start of the men’s World Cup in Qatar.

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The Women’s World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20th to August 20th.

“We can confirm that a letter signed by 150 players from national teams on every continent was sent to FIFA in October,” FIFPro said in a statement.

“These players are striving for fair terms ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. FIFPRO is currently negotiating with FIFA on behalf of these players.”

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the existence of the letter.

FIFPro did not share a copy of the letter and said it could not comment further as negotiations are ongoing. The names of the players who signed the letter were also not disclosed.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

The move comes as more and more demands are being made for FIFA to make the prize money for the two tournaments fairer.

Argentina earned US$42 million (US$64 million) for winning the Men’s World Cup in Qatar from a US$440 million (US$666 million) prize pool. In contrast, the US women’s national team won $4 million ($6.1 million) from a $30 million ($45 million) prize pool for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. The prize pool for this summer’s women’s tournament is yet to be determined.

As part of their historic collective bargaining agreement reached last year, the US men’s and women’s national teams will split prize money equally at the World Cup after US soccer takes a percentage off the top.

US Soccer is currently the only federation to distribute World Cup prize money evenly. The Canada women’s national team has requested a similar arrangement in ongoing negotiations for a new employment contract with Canada Soccer.

The Women’s World Cup has an expanded field of 32 teams, compared to 24 in France. The 2019 tournament attracted a worldwide television audience of more than 1 billion viewers.