For the first time since the FIFA Women’s Football was launched in 1991 as a quadrennial championship, players are going to be directly rewarded financially with series of performance-based funds from the preliminary stage, to the final. Will this FIFA jumbo package make the women play with gusto or be complacent at this 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup being hosted by Australia and New Zealand? MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN reports…
When the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup opens in Australia and New Zealand on July 20, the lasses representing 32 countries across the globe, including the Super Falcons of Nigeria, will not only be playing for gong and glory but for big bucks for the first time.
This FIFA Women’s World Cup is the ninth edition that has huge performance-related bonuses to be paid directly to the players and the participating countries. Consequently, we should expect the ladies to play with more gusto than ever before.
Launched in 1991 in Sweden, the FIFA Women World Cup, true to prediction, has grown in leaps and bounds since former FIFA President Joseph Blatter audaciously predicted a decade ago that “the future of football will be feminine.”
“This [expanding the women’s game] is one of my projects,” said Blatter, who left office under the cloud in 2015, in an interview broadcast on Al Jazeera in 2013. “The future of football will be feminine.
“We have shown that now, all around the world, girls and women can play football; so we are investing a lot in women’s football,” the Swiss added.
If Blatter’s FIFA can be credited with laying the foundation for what women’s football is today, his successor, Gianni Infantino, who was elected as FIFA President in 2016 and re-elected in 2019 and in March 2023, will forever be remembered as the modernizer of women’s football.
While there has been prize money at the Men’s FIFA World Cup since 1982, the first edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup to feature prize money was China 2007, where USD 6.4 million was shelled out.
MEGA-BUCKS
Ever since, there has been marked progression so much so that USD 50 million was paid across board at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, but it has tripled this term with a staggering USD 152 million plus USD 110 million as performance-based fund for all the teams at this finals in Australia and New Zealand.
“FIFA is making a huge investment in women’s football, and for the first time ever, we are guaranteeing prize money for players,” the soccer ruling body said in a statement. “The decision of FIFA to pay 30 percent of World Cup funds to women’s football is a right step in the right direction, because, over the years, women’s football has suffered poor funding, which negatively affected the development of the gender aspect of the game.
“This move will give the game a better opportunity to develop in all areas.
“With this, women’s footballers can be exposed to series of programmes that will enable them reach desired height in the game, as the various federations across the world will be enabled to engage a number of developmental programmes which will boost the women’s game.”
AFRICA LAGGING BEHIND
While the rest of the world especially in Europe, Oceania and America has since made the women’s game the beautiful bride with guaranteed funding and sponsorship, Africa is yet to reach such golden heights.
Whereas the prize money at the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 was €16 million euros, just a paltry USD 2.4 million was the prize money for the 2022 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, for instance.
Yet, according to FIFA, the decision to make more money available to women’s football, starting with this 2023 Women’s World Cup finals, would most definitely serve as motivation to women’s football; after all, “women have been limited in various areas due to paucity of funds. “Hence more accruable money will help boost the women’s game in several ways.” Besides, each player in each of the 32 teams at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup will take home at least $30,000 USD from the tournament, even as all the 23 members of the winning team is guaranteed $270,000 USD as part of a $110m total prize pool.
“This decision will bring the women’s game in Africa close to what it is in Europe, America and the Oceania,” FIFA stated boldly. “It will also encourage the players stay back on the African continent to help develop the game instead of running outside the continent to play in the more lucrative and better organised foreign leagues.
“With better funding, African teams can be more technical in the game and won’t fall easily to the more technical foreign teams.
“African teams will now have more confidence to rub shoulders with the foreign teams and now see them as equals in the game, as the better development will enable the African teams win in bigger tournaments.”
A BREAKTHROUGH
By the way, FIFA’s decision has reverberated across the Africa with many of women’s football aficionados admitting that the money boost would indeed have concomitant effects on the development and growth of the women’s game across the continent.
African women’s football leading voice, Samuel Ahmadu, Chief Editor at NigeriaFootball.ng, said: “Well, I think this is a breakthrough for women’s football globally, and also seen as one of the best ways to improve the quality of life for women’s footballers in the world all over; and with the understanding of how much the FIFPro has invested in ensuring this equality comes to play,”
In an interview with The Voice of America, Ahmadu added: “This is a long push that FIFPro has been on and has really made a very rich and amazing success seeing how their discussion started with FIFA over how to improve and also how to increase the value of financial support coming to women’s football; and also improving the returns and the massive investment they are putting into women’s football and also the Women’s World Cup.”
Indeed, it’s a win-and-win situation for women’s football because apart from the players at this World Cup finals, the participating FIFA-member associations, have also been allocated performance-based funds totalling USD 15.2 million, besides the initial preparation money of USD 11.5 million to all the teams at this 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“Most definitely, Women’s World Cup has been a mega tournament for women’s football globally and for Africa, I think we saw how much excitement that was created about teams that qualified,” Ahmadu further said. “We saw four teams qualifying directly from Africa: Morocco, Zambia, South Africa and Nigeria and we would be having debutants in Morocco and Zambia.
“Imagine a country like Cameroun, known after being to two consecutive tournaments but couldn’t make it this time to the World Cup even through the playoffs.
“Senegal nearly came through the playoffs but unfortunately they fell short of chances.
CAF WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
“So, I think we must begin to expect great good impact even before the money was announced. The excitement around the women’s game, especially the increment, is going to definitely triple the effect of seeing more national federations and coupled with the introduction of the CAF Women’s Champions League, the excitement and interest is already on the high.
“Now, they will see women’s football as probably a major money- spinning venture that will really attract sponsorship; and which will also encourage the federations to really put out funds.
“Unfortunately, we will also see at the same time, some federations with lackadaisical approach to women’s football who really don’t see women’s football as something that should be encouraged.”
GRASROOTS’ SPONSORSHIP
One of the continental powerhouses of women’s football that would be missing in Australia and New Zealand World Cup are the Black Queens of Ghana, but Ghanaian journalist Ayishatu Zakaria has equally lauded FIFA’s financial boost.
“This is a big initiative and we must applaud FIFA for that, because, most at times, we have member-associations and federations telling you they do not have money to develop women’s football and they often say that companies are more willing to sponsor the men’s games,” Zakaria, a correspondent with SportsNewsAfrica, reasoned.
“In Ghana, companies are willing to invest more in the Black Stars than the Black Queens. (Ghanaian) companies are willing to invest in the men’s Premier League compared to the women’s Premier League.
“So, FIFA deciding to give 30% of the World Cup funds to women’s football, I believe is the right call as this would serve as big motivation for other countries who did not make it this time.”
She added: “I believe this (financial boost) will impact on women’s football in Africa greatly, because as I mentioned earlier, most times, member-associations and federations always give excuse that there’s no money in the women’s game even from the grassroots to the elite leagues.
“I always believe that if you want to develop the game, you should start from the grassroots; that is where you get the talent from; that is where you discover, nurture and groom.
“As a nation, if you want to invest and you want to develop your game, you need to start investing from the grassroots and these member-associations would tell you there’s no money and it’s quite true because companies are willing to invest in the bigger brands compared to the grassroots ones.
“I’m saying this because even though the senior women’s teams for the various countries, associations and federations, have some forms of sponsorship. You look at the smaller or lower teams even how the U15 and U17 teams don’t have sponsorship.”
These same sentiments were also shared by Loretta Sadoh, a 2010 WAFCON winner with the Super Falcons. She called out the continental soccer ruling body, CAF, to urgently take a cue from FIFA by splashing more cash on the women’s game.
“I think FIFA’s decision to give part of the World Cup money to players is a good gesture, a welcome development,” she declared. “Whatever gets to motivate players to do better and give their best is a welcome development.
“Considering all the controversies and stories of women’s football not getting enough enumeration and the pay-gap between men and women, I think giving the players that kind of amount directly is something good; especially players coming from Africa and other developing countries outside Africa.
MOTIVATION FOR GIRLS
“FIFA has set another high standard and we are hoping CAF will take a toll and improve the welfare package for players and, in return, motivate more girls to play; and the ones that are already playing would definitely motivate them to give their best and be part of the national team.”
For CAF, it has always been a function of cutting your coat according to your cloth, given its level of support for the development and growth of women’s football on the continent.
In 2022, CAF boosted the prize money of its WAFCON by 150 per cent with Morocco receiving $500,000, which was $300,000 more than what the Super Falcons of Nigeria received when they won the 2018 WAFCON tournament in Accra in 2018.
Yet in April, CAF, via its Women’s Football Landscape Report, claimed it was desirous at ensuring a ‘strong and sustainable’ future for the women’s game with ‘development and participation’, ‘league and competition’ and ‘structure and governance’ as the three key areas outlined in the 87-page report.
In the survey conducted, it was discovered that a total of 47 out of the 54 African nations have women’s teams, with 150,653 players, 4,140 coaches and 4,724 referees registered by the CAF.
The survey found that 67 per cent of the national federations had a women’s football department, with 90 per cent claiming to have developed a strategy for the game. It also revealed that 59 per cent of the governing bodies were not receiving government support towards enhancing women’s football.
CAF SUPPORT
But last week at its 45th General Assembly in Abidjan, CAF President Patrice Motsepe promised further incentives to the four teams representing the continent at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: “Nigeria, Zambia, Morocco and South Africa are the African nations that have qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023. For the first time in the history of African Women’s football, CAF is contributing and assisting these nations with financial and technical support.”
Yet, Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) Executive Committee member, Ms Agnes Mugena, as well as Women’s Football Development Officer of Dragons FC of Benin Republic, Toibath Kiffouly, were of the view that women’s football in Africa can be on further steady swing if CAF can put huge resources into the game as FIFA is doing .
“Improved funding would further aid women’s football development. Capacity-building will be necessitated through further training of coaches and administrators,” noted Mugena, who doubles as FIFA head of women’s football committee. “More funding will ease the administration of women’s football and it will encourage more girls to admire and play football.”
Kiffouly equally quipped: “FIFA had always plan for the promotion, development and improvement of women’s football and payment of performance fund at the coming World Cup is an excellent development.
“As we know, women’s football lacked financial support in Africa generally and this had long affected its development, but there would be great improvement with funds being provided by FIFA to member federations for women’s football development.
“In fact, paying the players performance-based bonuses will further motivate the players to give their best,” she added.
THE FEARS
But there is a growing fear that this newly introduced performance-based fund for the 2023 World Cup –bound teams will provoke agitations such as that of the Super Falcons and Bayana Bayana’s over equal pay with their male counterparts.
According to Busisiwe Mokoena of South Africa Sports Journalists Association; “Without the players, there is nothing to watch and, obviously, it’s good that FIFA is going to pay money directly to the players because we know in Africa, money has always been a problem for women’s football.
“I don’t think this is going to be a distraction, rather it is going to be a big motivation for the players in terms of the performances they’ll put up on the field; and this will motivate them to do better so that the initial 30 percent can become bigger.”
As Mokoena noted, the players would be the cynosure of all eyes when the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off, while the Team Media Officer of Nigeria’s Super Falcons, Oluchi Tobex Tochukwu, equally reckoned that FIFA’s booty will serve the game more good than harm.
“The $30,000 USD appearance fee per player is a welcome development that made the World Cup bound players ecstatic, motivated and determined to give their best at the tournament,” noted Tochukwu. “Financial reward for every player will always motivate them and will never be a distraction.”
Tochukwu’s sentiment was shared by Super Falcons striker Asisat Oshoala who has been listed by FIFA as one of the stars to light up this World Cup, in an interview with BBC Sport Africa : “I’m happy things are beginning to change and players don’t have to be dependent on their federations for income from World Cup appearances alone. It really is interesting to see such development because it will serve as a motivation to the players.”
Whether this FIFA jumbo package will make the women play with gusto or be gutless at this 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand remains to be seen.
FUNDS BY FIFA FOR 2023 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
Performance-based fund: USD 110 million
Club Benefits Programme: USD 11.5 million
Preparation Money: USD 30.7 million
Total: USD 152 million
PERFORMANCE BREAKDOWN PER PLAYER
Group stage: USD 30,000
Round of 16: USD 60,000
Quarter Final: USD 90,000
4th place: USD 165,000
3rd place: USD 180,000
2nd place: USD 195,000
Winners: USD 270,000
ALLOCATION FOR PARTICIPATING MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS
Group stage: USD 1,560,000
Round of 16: USD 1,870,000
Quarter Final: USD 2,180,000
4th place: USD 2,455,000
3rd place: USD 2,610,000
2nd place: USD 3,015,000
Winners: USD 4,290,000