The women's national team sent a letter to FIFA asking for equal World Cup prize money, according to the international association of professional players, which claims 150 women signed the petition.
The letter, which also demands equal treatment and conditions for women's teams competing in soccer's most illustrious tournament, was sent to the sport's international governing body in October, according to FIFPro, which made the revelation one month before the start of the men's World Cup in Qatar.
From July 20 to August 20, Australia and New Zealand will host the Women's World Cup. "We can reveal that 150 players from national teams from every continent signed a letter that FIFA received in October. These athletes want equal treatment before to the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023. FIFPRO stated in a statement to The Associated Press that it is presently negotiating with FIFA on behalf of these players. The Wall Street Journal was the first publication to make mention of the letter.
FIFPro refused to give a copy of the letter and said it couldn't comment further while negotiations were ongoing. The identities of the participants who signed the letter were likewise hidden.
On Wednesday, Fifa was asked for comment but did not immediately respond. The event takes place while FIFA is under increasing pressure to make the prize money for the two competitions more equal.
Argentina received $42 million for winning the men's World Cup in Qatar out of a total prize pool of $440 million. Comparatively, the U.S. women's national team received $4 million of the $30 million in awards given out for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France. A prize fund has not yet been established for the women's competition this summer.
After a deduction made in accordance with the historic collective bargaining agreements that were formed last year by U.S. Soccer, the men's and women's national teams of the United States will divide the World Cup prize money equally.
The only association that now splits World Cup prize money equally is the United States Soccer Federation. The Canadian women's national team has asked for a similar clause in the ongoing talks for a new labour deal with Canada Soccer.
The number of teams for the Women's World Cup, which kicks off on July 20, has increased from 24 to 32. A total of more than 1 billion people watched the 2019 event on television worldwide.
