Wales has become the latest nation to offer equal pay to their senior men’s and women’s players for representing their country.
It was announced last week by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) that an agreement had been reached, on a deal which would mean the men’s and women’s senior national players are paid the same amount for representing their country for the first time.
The deal has been described as a historical and monumental moment for Welsh women’s football. A joint statement from the men’s and women’s sides was released in which it said: “Together Stronger has been the mantra across the Cymru national teams for us all, both on and off the pitch as we look to put Wales on the world stage.”
Speaking to the BBC, Wales women’s manager Gemma Grainger said: “We want our players to embody Together Stronger, the collaboration with the men’s team is something we want to continue.”
It is not known publicly exactly how much the match fee paid to players is, but it was confirmed that the men's side agreed to take a 25% pay cut in order to facilitate the move.
The deal will come into immediate effect and will run until 2027, covering the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Wales will now join a list of countries that include England, the United States of America, Australia, Norway and the Republic of Ireland in equal pay for the national teams.
The move for Wales now means Scotland are the last home nation yet to reach an equal pay deal. It was announced towards the end of last year that the Scottish women’s national team would be taking legal action over equal pay after talks broke down with the Scottish Football Association.
England men’s and women’s senior sides have been paid the same match fee since January 2020. Since September 2021, The Republic of Ireland Football Association reduced the amount in which their senior men’s team were paid to equal the amount for the women’s side, this was a move that was encouraged by both captains, Seamus Coleman and Katie McCabe.
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