While all eyes will be on-the-field in the coming weeks, there are plenty of issues for women in football off-the-field also
This year's World Cup takes place within an interesting context about gender issues in football and sport more generally, both here and elsewhere.
In 2015, around 750 million people watched the tournament with even more expected to do so this year. The number of accredited media covering the tournament has increased from around 1,600 in 2015 to more than 2,500 this year.
While the US women's team is considered amongst the favourites to repeat their success of 2015, it is their battle off the field that is really of interest.
In March, the squad filed a lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation alleging gender discrimination because of the vast pay gap between the women's and men's teams. The US women's team is in the unusual situation not only outperforming their male counterparts, but also generating more revenue, which makes their case particularly interesting especially as this is generally the argument used against increase the share of prize money for women.
One of the leaders in that fight is World Cup winning goalkeeper, Hope Solo, who was outspoken on the issue of equal pay even while still actively playing. Solo and the US women's team recently had a legal win with three arbitrators ruling that US Soccer is in breach of Federal law, after the governing body had earlier dismissed their complaint.
Solo and her former teammates who are still playing in the squad (such as Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan) want more than equal pay. They also want US Soccer to provide increased support for football development for girls and boys, greater promotion of the game and improved pathways for women in taking-up leadership roles.
They are not alone.
Earlier this week, the PFA launched their campaign around equality of pay targeting the women's World Cup. Entitled #ourgoalisnow, the PFA makes the point that the gap between prize money for the men's edition of the World Cup and the women's is USD$370 million – a ludicrous difference considering the USD$2.75 billion FIFA has in reserves, as well as the increasing interest in the women's game. As the table below shows, for a team that is ranked in the bottom half of the World Cup, as the Socceroos were in 2018, they receive $7.25 million more than a team in the lower half of the women's tournament. The PFA is seeking the same amount of money at the same stage of the tournament to take the total prize pool to $336 million.
The PFA might well focus on their own collective bargaining agreements also. As our analysis here showed, if the Matildas reach the quarter-final stage of the World Cup – which they are widely tipped to do – they will receive $429,000 between them (approximately $18,600 each), or just under one-third (32.2%) of what the Socceroos received for the Asian Cup. In terms of what that means for the individual player, that’s $39,400 each less for the Matildas than for the Socceroos at the same stage. We also revealed that bonuses kicked-in for the Socceroos at the quarter-final stage of the Asian Cup, but there is no bonus payable for the Matildas unless they win the final, when they would receive a $250,000 bonus in total. By contrast, if the Socceroos had won this year's Asian Cup, their total team bonus would have been $1.25 million.
While, in Australia, the Matildas can't boast of bringing in more revenue than the Socceroos as the US women's team can, the point is made that reducing that gap is a simple issue of fairness, progress and respect.
The best woman player in the world, Ada Hegerberg of Norway, will not actually be at the World Cup as a matter of principle because of a 2017 fallout with her national football association. The 2018 Ballon d'Or wnner and four times Champions League winner says there is a “lack of respect” shown to the women's team, even though the men's and women's team receive equal pay. In an interview this week in Norway, Hegerberg went further saying that she was “broken mentally” in national women's team training camps.
As if to prove Hegerberg's point, 'respect' was clearly not on display last week when the French women's team was required to leave their French Football Federation training base to make way for the men's team ahead of a friendly against Bolivia. French manager, Didier Deschamps, said that there was “no debate” about the women moving out, demonstrating a breathless disregard for the French women's team preparing for a World Cup on home soil, compared with his highly paid 2018 champions playing a meaningless friendly.
The Germany team's video makes the point that most of the country “doesn't even know our names”.
The same lack of respect, fairness and progress applies off-the-field too.
In Australia, of the top 49 most senior positions in football management, only two (4.1%) are occupied by women. If the FFA Women's Council – which is a non-elected, appointed advisory group determined by the other 49 positions – is included, it is 11 from 59 (18.6%).
There are also examples to the contrary, of course, with some men in power in football instinctively understanding their responsibility to be ambassadors for gender equity.
When the England women's team was sharing St George's Park facilities with the men's team last week, England women's manager Phil Neville noted that senior men's manager Gareth Southgate and Under-21 men's manager Aidy Boothroyd both said the women's team was the priority in terms of access to resources and facilities.
While there is an increasing realisation around the world that attitude and behaviour needs to change when it comes to gender equality in elite level sport, women have not yet achieved an equal space or place either on- or off-the-field, as these examples show and as we have written about previously in relation to the situation in Australia. It is something we must continue to advocate about, as continuing inequalities in sport have a major impact on and reflect systemic inequalities in society.
It's 2019 and for some of us it feels like we've been talking and writing about issues such as this, let along living through them, for a lifetime – perhaps because we have.
So while we all enjoy the World Cup and, hopefully, revel in the success of the marvellous Matildas, let's also resolve to do something substantive, real and practical to address the gender imbalance in football – for the benefit of individuals, our sport and our community.