FIFA says it can't guarantee prize money goes to Women's World Cup players

FIFA implied that it would be able to do so last month

After saying last month that it created a path for Women's World Cup prize money to go directly to players, FIFA shared on the eve of the tournament that it is actually unable to do so. The June announcement was seen as a mechanism to reduce inequities in women's soccer.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in June that it created a "unique redistribution model" that would ensure each player at this year's World Cup would pocket at least $30,000 in prize money and that the players on the championship-winning team would take home $270,000. FIFA implied that the money would skip over national federations, who usually receive the prize money and are encouraged -- but not always required -- to distribute the funds to players.

"We have issued these recommendations, but we have an association of associations," Infantino said, per the Associated Press. "So whatever payments we do, we will go through the associations and then the associations will, of course, make the relevant payments to their own players. We are in touch with all the associations."

Sending prize money directly to players would serve as protection for athletes who do not have agreements with their federations to actually receive earnings from their participation at the World Cup. For many of the players who will exit the World Cup in the group stage, $30,000 will be the largest paycheck of their careers -- the global yearly average salary for women's soccer players is around $14,000.

The battle for equal pay

FIFA's June announcement came months after global players union FIFPRO sent the governing body a letter demanding equal funding and treatment of the men's and women's World Cups. FIFA committed to providing equal conditions, which included increasing the delegation size for the women's tournament to 50 and ensuring they have access to the same accommodations.

One thing FIFA is still obviously falling short on is equal prize money. FIFA will hand out $150 million to the teams competing in Australia and New Zealand, a 300% increase from the 2019 tournament but well short of the $440 million the governing body awarded teams competing at last year's men's World Cup. Infantino said in March that FIFA aims to have equal pay at the World Cups for the next cycle.

Co-hosts Australia pointed out the pay discrepancy in a video posted on social media Monday, noting that they have equal pay with their male counterparts outside of the checks they cash for participating at World Cups. The Matildas also encouraged power brokers in the sport to invest further in the A-League Women so players in the league will not need part-time jobs.