FIFA can’t guarantee Women’s World Cup players will get US$30K from federations

FIFA's president could make no guarantee Wednesday that the member federations will distribute the US$30,000 payments promised to every player at the Women’s World Cup.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino could make no guarantee Wednesday that the member federations will distribute the US$30,000 payments promised to every player at the Women’s World Cup.

He said at a news conference ahead of the tournament opener that he’s engaging with member federations on the issue. The payments are made the national federations, which are expected to pay the players.

But there is no mechanism to directly pay the players the money, which could be life-changing for some.

“We are moving of course in the right direction, we have been consulting with associations, with players, to try to go in the right path,” Infantino said.

“We have issued these recommendations, but we have an association of associations. 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.”

FIFA had previously confirmed that the 732 players participating in the World Cup will be paid at least $30,000 each. The paycheck rises if teams do well, with each player for the winning team earning $270,000.

Infantino said there are complications including residency and taxation that are best handled by federations.

The payment is significant for many players: the average annual salary worldwide for women who play professionally is $14,000.