KATHRYN BATTE: Bold talk over equal pay is little more than a PR stunt

Today, Gianni Infantino is feeling generous.

On the day he was re-elected unopposed as FIFA president, the 52-year-old announced the governing body’s wish that prize money for the Women’s World Cup equal that of men by 2027. Importantly, this is a wish, not a promise.

The news on Thursday that the total prize money for this year’s tournament will triple to £125m (for the men’s World Cup in Qatar it was £365m) was welcome and necessary.

This is still a growing sport. If the prize money does not increase, the quality of the product that FIFA is desperate to market will never improve. And the growing interest has boosted FIFA’s ability to increase prize pools.

‘Women deserve much, much more, and we are here to fight with them and for them. We need to fight together to achieve that,’ Infantino said.

The United States won the last Women’s World Cup in 2019 and has been campaigning for equal pay

But the idea of ​​equal prize money four years from now is hugely ambitious and smacks of the marketing ploy of a president who knows he needs to win at public relations.

How can anyone trust a word that Infantino says? This is a man who was happy Saudi Arabia’s tourism body sponsored this summer’s competition, a move that will be dropped following criticism from players due to the country’s appalling record on women’s rights.

Did he and FIFA have the best interests of women’s football in mind when they effectively backed that regime with that decision?

It is also telling that Infantino used the same speech to criticize broadcasters for not making reasonable financial offers to show matches in this year’s competition.

“FIFA is receiving between 10 and 100 times less from public broadcasters for the Women’s World Cup than it is for the Men’s World Cup. Do you think that is normal? Infantino said.

‘At the same time, these public broadcasters, who are paid with taxpayers’ money, are criticizing FIFA… for failing to guarantee equal pay between men and women.

“He pays us 100 times less, but his viewing figures are very similar, maybe 20 to 25 percent less, not 100 percent less. Well, offer us 20 percent less or 50 percent less, but not 100 percent less. How else can we do it?’

These are not salaries paid by the national FAs. The English FA pay men and women the same (around £2,000 per game) and have done so for three years.

But the prize money is dictated by market forces. Infantino is right that viewership figures for women’s tournaments around the world are increasing enormously and there is clearly a demand to watch the matches. But there has to be realism.

England’s women’s Euro 2022 final victory against Germany was watched by 17.4 million people on the BBC. The final of the men’s Eurocup a year earlier was watched by 30.9 million.

The women’s game needs investment, but Infantino’s comments felt like a cheap and easy PR win.

Therefore, market forces suggest that broadcasters will not get as much publicity from women’s football and therefore will not offer as much to FIFA to show women’s matches.

Of course, more investment increases quality, which improves the product, which increases revenue – there is a chicken-and-egg element.

But what about FIFA? They have plenty of money to funnel into the prize pots if they wanted to. They don’t need to rely solely on broadcasters or sponsors.

As for the World Cup this summer, it’s understandable to expect British broadcasters to offer less money for a tournament taking place on the other side of the world in Australia and New Zealand, when some matches will start in the early hours of the morning. here.

It’s hard not to see Infantino’s grand gesture as a way of diverting FIFA’s attention to the broadcasters. He offered no plan or explanation for how they will achieve their goal. He felt like a lip service.

This speech also came after it was revealed that England players and 24 other women’s national soccer teams signed a letter to FIFA and Infantino in October calling for a level playing field and prize money at this summer’s World Cup. .

Achieving full parity with the men’s World Cup feels financially impossible in the next four years.

So it was timely, it makes it seem like FIFA is listening. But the reality is that they are still deaf.

Women’s football needs investment to continue growing. That is not up for debate. But you don’t need, as you’ve tried many times before, to run before you can walk.

The prize money for the World Cup this summer had to be increased significantly. Equality is the ultimate goal, but achieving it in four years seems impossible.

As much as Infantino talks for the talk, when it comes down to it, how hard will FIFA try to make that vision a reality?