Analysis:Success of Women's World Cup can't hide financial gap with men

STOKE, England/MADRID : Just a few years ago, pre-season training for Stoke City's women sometimes included painting the dugout and removing litter from the pitch at a former working men's club in central England.

Now, in line with a global boom in women's football, they are being paid, receive instructions from a full-time coach, enjoy the same multi-million pound training facilities as the men - and no longer moonlight as rubbish collectors.

"In such a short time, we've seen massive changes," said 24-year-old midfielder Molly Holder, in her third campaign at Stoke. "We go early to use the gym, we have access to the physio, 20 minutes in the video analysis room, maybe some darts and food with team mates. We feel part of Stoke."

That professionalisation has underpinned the success of the ninth Women's World Cup, which ended on Sunday with Spain beating England by a single goal in a final that pitted the two European countries with the strongest domestic leagues against each other.

Attracting record crowds and television audiences, the tournament buoyed hopes that the women's game can start to bridge the yawning financial gap that exists with the men.

According to consultancy Deloitte, the women's teams of the highest revenue-generating clubs in world football accounted for only 0-1 per cent of total club revenues, in the 2021/22 season.

Spain's captain Olga Carmona - the scorer of Sunday's deciding goal - plays for Real Madrid, where the women's team generated revenues of 1.4 million euros in the 2021/22 season, according to Deloitte.

That compared with the Real Madrid men's teams revenues of 713.8 million euros in the same season.

TV BLACKOUT

In broadcast rights, the women's game has struggled to compete. The FIFA president,