Spain and England will compete for the biggest prize in football on Sunday, with both nations heading into their maiden final at the Women’s World Cup. Aside from the eternal glory – or gut-wrenching agony in the losers case – that comes with this fixture, FIFA also announced a record Women’s World Cup prize money figure for the eventual winners.
Women’s World Cup Prize Money
For the first time ever, FIFA confirmed that they would be guaranteeing players at the Women’s World Cup direct pay, with $110 million in total prize money paid out to the 32 teams competing in Australia and New Zealand this year.
Delving deeper into that total figure, it was also revealed that players at the 2023 World Cup would be guaranteed a minimum of $30,000 each.
This is in stark contrast to four years ago, where the then-24 nations who competed were handed a share of $30 million. This was sent directly to the federations, with no guarantee that the players would receive anything.
Fast-forward to now, and a 300% increase in this figure has begun to reflect the growing commercial and emotional significance of the women’s game.
According to women-specific sports website The Equalizer, England and Spain will be competing for a total prize money of $10.5 million for the eventual winner.
Breaking that down even further, around $6,210,000 will go directly to the players ($270,000 per-player), with the left over renumeration handed to the nation’s federation, in order to be reinvested in various programmes from grassroots, all the way up to national level.
How Does This Compare to the Men’s World Cup?
Around 1.12 million cumulative viewers tuned in to watch the 2019 Women’s World Cup, but the rapid ascension of the game means 2023’s edition is set to experience around double the viewership.
However, the final of the Men’s World Cup in Qatar last winter saw 1.12 billion fans tune in to watch Lionel Messi lift the trophy with Argentina.
This type of viewership – the highest in the world of sport – obviously commands significantly more in commercial revenue, which in turn trickles down to the players.
That tournament saw a record total prize pool of $440 million, with eventual champions Argentina taking home $42 million, while runners-up France benefitted from $30 million.
That means the Women’s World Cup prize money for 2023 makes up just 25% of the men’s total from 2022.
According to the organisation’s president Gianni Infantino, FIFA are targeting parity between the men’s and women’s tournaments by the time the 2027 tournament rolls around for the latter.
Infantino also added that much of the disparity between the two tournaments exists in the value of broadcasting, but insisted that football’s governing body would not sell at a lower price
“Women deserve much, much more than that, and we are there to fight for them and with them,” he said.
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