World football governing body FIFA has stressed that football associations are still responsible for women’s world cup payments, News About Nigeria understands.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino noted this, reaffirming that player payments will be the responsibility of individual country associations, after initially promising players that such payment will henceforth come from FIFA to their various accounts.
Infantino disclosed this during a press conference in Auckland, explaining that FIFA is in contact with the associations and federations, but the varying situations across different regions would require special agreements.
He added that Issues on taxation and residence stipulations have been cited as factors that may affect the distribution of prize money, even though some have been addressed in prior agreements.
“We have issued recommendations, but we are an association of associations. So, whatever payments we do will be through the associations. Then the associations will make the relevant payments to their own players.”
Meanwhile, following FIFA’s announcement of a $110 million prize money pool, with a minimum guarantee of $30,000 for each player, Infantino couldn’t promise that the funds would be distributed equally among all participating countries.
Despite efforts made by FIFA to ensure equitable compensation for players, there have been reported disputes between women’s national teams and their respective federations over prize money allocation.
Just this month, South Africa’s players accused their association of withholding World Cup bonus payments.
A recent report by FIFPRO, a global union for professional soccer players, revealed that 29 percent of surveyed players did not receive payments from their national teams within two weeks of their confederation championships.
Even with these challenges, Infantino remained optimistic, highlighting FIFA’s commitment to addressing the issue and working closely with associations and players for a smooth World Cup experience.
He acknowledged that further improvements would be pursued after the tournament, emphasizing the importance of continued collaboration with all stakeholders.
