The 23 players to represent New Zealand at the FIFA Women’s World Cup will each receive at least NZ$49,000 from the tournament’s prize pool.
This has been confirmed by FIFA who have released the schedule of payments to teams and players for their participation in the tournament to be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, which starts on July 20 with an opening ceremony at Auckland’s Eden Park.
The 32 participating teams and their national bodies will share NZ$180 million in prizemoney, compared with the NZ$49 million distributed among the 24 teams that played at the Paris Women’s World Cup in 2019.
This year’s tournament is the first at which players will be guaranteed payments by FIFA.
Under the new arrangement, each player at the World Cup is guaranteed a minimum of NZ$49,000.
Members of the winning team will receive NZ$441,000 each.
The minimum guarantee of NZ$49,000 more than doubles what FIFA estimates is the average global salary of paid players (NZ$22,900) in a recent study.
The global players’ union FIFPro wrote to FIFA president Gianni Infantino last year, asking for an “equal framework of regulations and conditions” for the men’s and women’s World Cup tournaments and at least a 30% increase in prizemoney from the 2019 World Cup.
‘They have listened to the voice of the players’
In a statement, FIFPro said:
“The confirmation of equal conditions and guaranteed per-player performance compensation at next month’s World Cup represents not only the outcome of tremendous global collective action by over 150 national team players, under the umbrella of FIFPro and its member unions; but a constructive negotiation with FIFA over the past months.
“They have listened to the voice of the players and we have taken steps towards greater gender equity in our game at its highest levels. The legacy of this action is by the players, for the players, of both today and tomorrow.”
Infantino said: “Under this unprecedented new distribution model, each individual player at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 can now fully rely on remuneration for their efforts as they progress through the tournament.
“The captain that ultimately lifts the iconic FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy on August 20 in Sydney will receive US$270,000, as will each of her 22 teammates.”
‘Money can be reinvested to propel women’s game even further’
“The global salary of women’s professional footballers is approximately US$14,000 annually (NZ$22,800) so the amounts allocated under this unprecedented new distribution model will have a real and meaningful impact on the lives and careers of these players.
“Beyond this, all member associations will also receive a record financial distribution based on their performance, which they can use to reinvest back into football in their countries and which we believe will help to propel the women’s game even further.”
FIFA will also expand the club benefits programme introduced to the women’s game for the first time in 2019.
The programme pays registered clubs for their development of players who participate in the World Cup, from their current professional teams to the youth sides that had developed them.
Funding for that programme has increased by nearly NZ$5 million.
How the prizemoney will be distributed
*2019 figures in brackets
All figures in NZ$
Performance-based fund: $180 million ($49 million)
Club benefits program: $18.8 million ($13.9 million)
Preparation money: $50.2 million ($18.8 million)
The 2023 tournament has 32 times, while 24 teams competed in 2019.
In 2019, there was no guarantee prizemoney given to national bodies would go to players.
Prizemoney paid to national bodies, outside of the player payments, is expected by FIFA to be reinvested into the body’s women’s soccer programmes, from technical staff to youth national teams and grassroots projects.
National bodies will receive the following prize payments after player-specific prizes have been deducted:
Group stage: $2,550,000
Round of 16: $3,056,000
Quarterfinal: $3,563,000
Fourth place: $4.013,000
Third place: $4,267,000
Second place: $4,929,000
First place: $7,013,000
Per-player guaranteed pay based on team finishes:
Group stage: $49,000
Round of 16: $98,000
Quarterfinal: $147,000
Fourth place: $270,000
Third place: $290,000
Second place: $319,000
First place: $441,000
