The World Union of Professional Women’s Soccer Players said it had sent a letter signed by 150 women’s national team players to FIFA calling for equal World Cup prize money.
FIFPro confirmed that the letter, which also calls for equal treatment and conditions for women’s teams participating in 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.
The Women’s World Cup is scheduled for this summer in Australia and New Zealand.
“We can confirm that a letter signed by 150 female national team players from all continents was sent to FIFA in October. These players are demanding fair terms ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. FIFPRO is currently negotiating with FIFA on behalf of these players.” FIFPro said in a statement.
FIFPro said it could not comment further as negotiations are ongoing. The names of the players who signed the letter were also not made available.
The move comes amid growing demands from FIFA to make the prize money for the two tournaments fairer.
Argentina earned $42 million for winning the Men’s World Cup in Qatar, out of a prize pool of $440 million. In contrast, the United States Women’s National Team won $4 million out of a $30 million prize pool for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. The prize pool for this summer’s women’s tournament has not been set.
Under their historic collective bargaining agreements reached last year, the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams will equally split prize money won at the World Cup after U.S. soccer took a percentage of the above.
US Soccer is currently the only federation that distributes World Cup prize money evenly. Canada’s National Women’s Team has called for a similar provision in ongoing negotiations for a new collective agreement with Canada Soccer.
The Women’s World Cup, which begins on July 20, has an expanded field of 32 teams, compared to 24 in France. The 2019 tournament attracted a global broadcast audience of over one billion viewers.
Sky Sports News has contacted FIFA for comment.