Quest for equal pay: Infantino says football going ‘in that direction already’

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has said the football world is already going in the direction of equal pay at the World Cup.

While speaking in Sydney, Infantino also said women who “pick the right fights” can “convince us men what we have to do” to bring progress in women’s football.

“With men, with Fifa, you will find open doors. Just push the doors,” Infantino said.

The ongoing Women’s World Cup is left with two matches to play. On Saturday, the third place play-off will feature Sweden and Australia (09:00 WAT). The final will then take place on Sunday between Spain and England.

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“This World Cup generated over $570m (£447m) in revenues, and so we broke even,” said Infantino.

“We didn’t lose any money and we generated the second highest income of any sport, besides of course the men’s World Cup, at a global stage.”

“We need to keep the momentum”

It is an known fact that a huge gap remains in prize money between the men’s and women’s tournaments. The record $110m (£86.1m) for this World Cup is lower than the $440m (£346m) provided to teams at last year’s men’s finals in Qatar where 3.4m fans were in attendance.

“Equal pay in the World Cup? We are going in that direction already,” Infantino also said.

“But that would not solve anything. It might be a symbol but it would not solve anything, because it’s one month every four years and it’s a few players out of the thousands and thousands of players.

“We need to keep the momentum.”

He continued: “And I say to all the women – and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home – that you have the power to change. Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights.

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“You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don’t have to do. You do it. Just do it.”

Infantino also stated that the success of the Women’s World Cup had silenced critics. This is for especially those who questioned the expansion of the tournament to 32 countries.

Criticism met the decision of FIFA to expand participating nations at the Women’s World Cup from 24 to 32.

It was believed in some quarters that the games at Australia and New Zealand would be largely one-sided. But it is evident to all that it has not been so.

Infact, Jamaica, South Africa, Nigeria, and Morocco – nations ranked outside the top 40 in the world – recorded some impressive results en route progression past the group stage.

Eight debutants at 2023 Women’s World Cup

“FIFA was right. We invested one billion US dollars in developing the game all over the world and the women’s game was specifically targeted,” added Infantino.

“We did that in spite of Covid, which impacted us all. Women’s football remained alive even in the most difficult of times. We decided to increase the number of teams at the World Cup to 32.

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“I remember when we decided to do [it] that the usual critics, which are less and less, were saying it’s not going to work and the level is too different.

“[They said] there would be 15-0 scores, and it will be bad for women’s football.

“As it happens quite often in the last years, Fifa was right once more. We had eight debutants. We had many countries around the world who thought suddenly they had a chance to participate.”