Pay equality is finally a reality for the Matildas as Football Federation Australia announced on Wednesday a landmark deal that will see the Australian women’s soccer team receive the same benefits as the Socceroos.
The world-first agreement will not only match the pay as their male counterparts but will see the Matildas take an equal split of commercial revenues for the first time.
The FFA said, under the new agreement, players are entitled to “40% of prize money on qualifying for a FIFA World Cup, representing an increase from 30%.”
If the team reaches the knockout stage of the competition, that share of prize money increases to 50%.
The Socceroos have historically been paid more than the Matildas and earned a greater share of commercial revenues.
Pay disparity between men’s and women’s professional footballers has been in the spotlight since the US women’s team sued governing body US Soccer in March alleging gender discrimination in earnings and working conditions.
The US women’s team received $4 million for winning the World Cup in France out of the tournament’s total prize-money pool of $30 million while 2018’s men’s World Cup winner France banked $38 million from a pool of $400 million.
The Matildas launched a campaign to pressure global soccer governing body FIFA to provide equal prize-money at World Cups ahead of the women’s tournament in France earlier this year.
“For the first time, player remuneration will be directly tied to the revenues generated by our National Teams – this will create a sustainable financial model that incentivises players and FFA to collaborate and grow the commercial pie together,” FFA Chairman, Chris Nikou said.
He added that the investment doesn’t stop at the Matildas and will expand to the youth and Cerebral Palsy teams too.
“This is truly a unique agreement. Every national team, from the Socceroos and Matildas, down to the Youth National Teams as well as the Cerebral Palsy National Teams have been contemplated in this new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement).
“We are proud to break this new ground in Australian and world sport.”
Many people took to Twitter to congratulate the Matildas on the milestone in Aussie (and world) sport.
Ian Ransom contributed to this report.