Fifa set to miss Infantino’s 2027 Women’s World Cup prize-money equality ambition
Fifa is set to fall short of Gianni Infantino’s 2023 ambition to equalise prize money for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil, despite reporting a record $15bn (£11.2bn) in revenue from this summer’s men’s tournament. Sources say the women’s prize pot for 2027 is expected to be around a third of the men’s $655m fund.
Infantino said in 2023 that the organisation’s "ambition" was to have "equality" for the prize pot for 2027, adding: "Fifa is stepping up with actions, not just with words." Because the men's tournament featured 48 teams and the women's finals will include 32 teams in Brazil, many had regarded a women’s pot roughly two-thirds the size of the men's as parity on a per-team basis.
Sky News has reported that Fifa is targeting a women’s prize fund of $220m, doubling the $110m paid in 2023, which would be a more than seven-fold increase on the 2019 women’s finals in France. No decision is expected to be confirmed until December’s Fifa council meeting. Some sources involved in recent negotiations privately praised the increase, while a senior female source described the outcome as a "huge missed open goal".
Fifa's prize money to the men's teams this year included $50m for the winners, Spain. Senior Fifa officials are understood to have spoken to some leading female players to outline wider investments in the women's game and to explain the decision, which is believed to be related to the commercial income the 2027 event will generate.
Infantino has previously criticised broadcasters for not paying more for the television rights for the women's tournament. According to Fifa, the 2023 tournament reached 933 million viewers on linear television and 895 million on streaming platforms; the final between England and Spain had a global live audience of 67 million and an overall reach of 222 million.
Fifa did not comment when contacted by the Guardian, but sources at the governing body said there would be further enhancements to the women's club benefits programme and additional money ringfenced for the players who take part in the tournament.
It was confirmed this month that 2027's Women's World Cup teams will receive the same preparation money from Fifa as those who played at the men's tournament, with the preparation payment more than doubled to $2.5m each. Fifa says every player will be guaranteed business class or chartered flights and their own hotel room rather than having to share, bringing those provisions in line with the men's World Cup.