‘Collective action works’: is football closing in on equal pay for men and women?

F ifa confirmed last week that it is tripling the prize money available for teams competing at the Women’s World Cup in July and August to $110m (£90m) and is committed to making the men’s and women’s World Cup prize pots equal by the 2026 and 2027 editions. The Guardian sat down with the general secretary of the international players’ union Fifpro, Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, and the organisation’s director of global policy and strategic relations in women’s football, Sarah Gregorius, to discuss the changes.

In October, Fifpro sent a letter signed by 150 women’s national team players calling for equal World Cup prize money – that demand has now been met . How significant is it?

Baer-Hoffmann: “We obviously must credit Fifa for taking this step, which is very important and will have a huge amount of impact, once we’ve confirmed and closed off all the details. But ultimately, the credit should be with the players for getting us here. The collective strength and that very visible unity amongst the playing group, between 25 national teams, behind very simple clear demands, is what pushed it over the line.

“I think that letter was really impactful. There’s years going into this with the US team, Norway, Australia and in many other teams and countries. But seeing that basically the majority of the players who lace up their boots in Australia and New Zealand are united behind this was very important.”

Gregorius: “The players’ reaction is our reaction. We keep them updated live, as it’s all happening and they sort of celebrate it, but they want to know the details. A lot of them have ongoing domestic conversations about prize money splits and things like that. So, they are waiting for the details in order to advance those