The FIFA World Cup pay gap exists because of one simple factor
The pay gap debate has been thrust back into the spotlight during the Women’s World Cup, but a simple truth explains why it exists.
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“Don’t strive for getting the same, strive for getting what you’re worth.”
That quote comes from journalist Will Cain during a segment on ESPN back in 2019 when the sports pay gap debate was thrust into the spotlight.
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Fast forward four years and the subject is once again the hot topic of debate after the Women’s World Cup got underway in Australia and New Zealand.
Days out from the tournament kicking off, the Matildas called out FIFA over the prize money pay gap, releasing a video asking the governing body to better invest in the women’s game.
Prize money for the women’s tournament has been set at around $110 million, a 300 per cent increase from the 2019 tournament.
The men’s competition, last year in Qatar, saw the prize money hit an eye-watering $440 million with the winning team receiving $42 million.
While the gap between the men’s and women's games is incredibly vast, there’s one truth behind it. Simple economics.
Now, before you sharpen your pitchforks and come after me know this: pay gaps are an ugly blight and I wish they didn’t exist, but they do and while they fire up the masses … truth must be the overwhelming factor in the debate, not emotion.
And on that topic, here’s the first hard truth that pay gap merchants refuse to buy into:
The most recent men’s World Cup generated a gargantuan $7.4b for FIFA.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will generate $500 million and, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, will break even financially.
Cain drew the ire of many back in 2019 when he laid out why men’s player were pocketing far more than the women.
“The women got paid out from a pool of $30 million from the womens World Cup,” Cain said on ESPN’s First Take.
“The men would draw from a pool of $400 million. $400 million and $30 million ... why is that?
“It’s because the men’s World Cup generates $6 billion in revenue, the Women’s World Cup generates $131 million in revenue.
“If you want to talk about pay disparity, the Women’s World Cup players get paid out 20 per cent of the total revenue.
“The men get paid out seven per cent. As a percentage point they’re getting much more.
“The problem is, for anybody desiring equal pay, and by the way I think equal pay is a ridiculous concept in and of itself, if the women generate more revenue they should get paid more than the men.
“Don’t strive for getting the same, strive for getting what you’re worth. And if you’re worth more then get more.”
Infantino announced the target of equal prize money for men and women at the World Cups by 2027.
Those remarks from the president of the governing body were met with bemusement by England manager Gareth Southgate who stated they don’t represent economic reality.
“I think that if men and women are doing the same job and men are being paid more then that’s an aspect that can’t be right,” Southgate said.
“Equally if we are in an economic world where in football there has got to be the funds available to pay, then in order to pay equally the broadcasting figures or sponsorship figures have to tally.
“So it’s probably an area that people don’t want to speak about but there is an economic reality to that.
“I have a daughter and if she is in an office and she is doing the same job as the person next to her then I would want her to be paid equally. There is no doubt about that.
“But there are economic factors between the Premier League and the Championship and across sports at different levels. In our league the broadcast deal is a huge part of why the salaries are what they are and that determines what it’s possible to pay.”
So while the calls for the governing body to throw more money behind women’s sport are fair, the return on investment simply isn’t there.
And as Cain pointed out, until you start generating more you’re not going to get paid on the same level.
Originally published as The FIFA World Cup pay gap exists because of one simple factor
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