Melbourne: Football Federation of Australia (FFA) on Wednesday announced equal pay policy for women and men national teams. The new four-year collective bargaining agreement between the FFA and the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) will close the pay gap between the Matildas (women`s team) and Socceroos (men`s team).
"Football is the game for everyone, and this new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is another huge step toward ensuring that we live the values of equality, inclusivity and opportunity," FFA chairman Chris Nikou said in an official statement.
"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," added Nikou.
"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," he added. Australia women`s team managed to reach the last 16 in this year`s FIFA Women`s World Cup in France. The Socceroos will be receiving a 24 per cent share of an agreed aggregate of 2019-20 national team generated revenues.
It will rise by one per cent each year over the course of the deal. Under the new CBA, women players are entitled to 40 per cent of prize money on qualifying for a FIFA World Cup, representing an increase from 30 per cent.The share of prize money will increase to 50 per cent if they progress to the knockout stage of the competition.
The player share of AFC Asian Cup prize money will also increase from 30 per cent to 33 per cent. If the players progress to an AFC Asian Cup Final, the prize money share will increase to 40 per cent.
