UltraViolet Demands FIFA Pay Women World Cup Players Directly After FIFA Backtracks on Promise of $30,000 Minimum Payments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 20, 2023
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com
UltraViolet Demands FIFA Pay Women World Cup Players Directly After FIFA Backtracks on Promise of $30,000 Minimum Payments
Leading national gender equality group calls on FIFA to keep its original pledge and directly pay Women World Cup players $30,000 each
Yesterday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said FIFA could not ensure that all 732 players competing in this year’s Women’s World Cup would receive a promised minimum salary of at least $30,000, despite publicly guaranteeing so earlier this year.
In response, Arisha Hatch, Interim Co-Executive Director at UltraViolet, a leading national gender equality organization that has campaigned for equal pay from FIFA and the US Soccer Federation since 2015, issued the following statement:
“FIFA’s broken promise of guaranteed compensation, revealed just before national teams were set to compete, is an insult to all of the players in the Women’s World Cup, and millions of soccer fans around the world. The announcement is a glaring red card that reflects FIFA’s lack of commitment to gender equality.
“After very publicly declaring the amount of compensation that each player in this year’s Women’s World Cup would receive, FIFA has an obligation to ensure they follow through by paying at least $30,000 to every player. President Infantino’s attempts to brazenly pass that responsibility off to individual federations is unacceptable.
“We urge that FIFA maintain its original promise to the players of the Women’s World Cup and declare a plan to distribute direct payments before the second round of the tournament.”
In 2015, UltraViolet launched a campaign calling on FIFA to close the gender pay gap after the Women’s World Cup, with a petition signed by 72,000 UltraViolet members demanding equal pay for the US Women’s National soccer team. In 2016, UltraViolet ran a TV ad calling for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team players to receive equal pay for equal play during the women’s soccer finals at the Rio Olympics.
In 2019, UltraViolet launched a campaign targeting US Soccer demanding an equal pay policy for men and women players, which bolstered efforts toward a successful agreement signed by US men’s and women’s teams last year.
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