FIFA boosts prize money for women's World Cup. All players get $30,000, winners $270,000

FIFA has promised big money to players at this year's World Cup. Now it has to ensure it gets to them, too.

The new pay structure FIFA announced Thursday is a significant step forward in the women's game, guaranteeing every player at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand at least $30,000, and $270,000 for each of the 23 players on the World Cup-winning team. Each of the 32 countries that qualified for the World Cup will get at least $1.56 million, bumping the total prize pool to $152 million — more than three times what it was four years ago.

The funds will be paid to the individual federations, with the expectation they pass on to the players the money earmarked for them by FIFA. But there have been numerous examples over the years of federations not giving players money they've earned, be it bonuses or base pay.

Nigeria's players staged a sit-in at their hotel after being eliminated from the 2019 World Cup, saying they'd been paid only about half the bonuses they were due. Ghana and Nigeria refused to practice during the men's World Cup in 2014 after players didn't get money promised to them for qualifying for the tournament.

Canada, the reigning Olympic champion, didn't reach agreement with Canada Soccer on 2022 funding until March of this year.

So it's all well and good — and long overdue — that FIFA is putting more money into the women's game. As long as that money actually gets to those it's intended for.

Here's a closer look at the new pay structure:

Who's getting paid what?

FIFA president Gianni Infantino made it a goal to have equal prize money for the men's and women's tournaments by the 2026 and 2027 World Cups. There's still a big gap — the prize pool for last year's men's tournament in Qatar was $440 million — but this narrows it.

Every player at this year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which begins July 20, will get at least $30,000. That amount increases with each knockout round game, with players who make it to the round of 16 getting $60,000 each and those who reach the quarterfinals getting $90,000.

Players whose teams make it to the semifinals will get a minimum of $165,000, with the 23 players on the World Cup champions earning $270,000. Each of the players on the runners-up will get $195,000.

Perhaps to eliminate the temptation to keep the money owed the players, FIFA is also increasing the money each federation gets for participating in the World Cup. This is intended to cover the costs of participating in the tournament, with any money that's left to be put toward development of the team.

The payouts begin at $1.56 million and, like the player prizes, increase the deeper into the tournament a team goes, up to $4.29 million for the team that wins the title.

Between the team payments and the player prizes, the World Cup champions will get a total of $10.5 million -- more than double the $4 million the U.S. women got in 2019.

Why does this matter?

Investment in the women's game is still a fraction of what it is for the men. In Thursday's release, Infantino noted that the global salary for women's players is roughly $14,000, less than half of what the minimum payout will be for each player at this year's World Cup.

"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," Infantino said.

The additional money the federations are getting should help bolster the game, too. Many would drastically reduce or eliminate support for their women's programs once a World Cup or Olympics ended, saying they didn't have enough money to keep the team going. The increased payments should eliminate that excuse — and give those countries not at the World Cup incentive to invest in their women's team.

"We see this is as only the beginning of what will be a transformational journey for the women’s professional football landscape together with FIFA,” David Aganzo, president of FIFPRO, the global players union.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FIFA prize money increase for women's World Cup narrows gap with men