The Gender Pay Gap and the Women’s World Cup

Despite recent success stories in the US and international competitions, the fight for women’s equality in soccer is far from over. There are still huge gaps between the average salaries of every country’s male and female teams. Some more than others. Even in the country with the smallest pay gap, we’re still looking at a -549% difference.

Most notably in Argentina, one of the world’s soccer meccas, where the pay difference between men and women can get to a whopping -174,294%. As you can see on the graph below, Morocco, Brazil, and Portugal aren’t too far behind.

United States

• Women’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $232,729
• Men’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $1,952,699
• Gender Pay Gap: -739%

Leading the charge in the fight for equality is the USWNT (US Women’s National Team), a 4-time World Cup winner and arguably the most successful team in women’s soccer history. In 2022, the USWNT won a lawsuit against the USSF (US Soccer Federation), resulting in female national team players now being paid the same as their male counterparts.

Thanks to its success, the USWNT will receive not only equal pay but also an equal split of the World Cup bonuses. The World Cup prize pool for women’s teams is significantly smaller than that for men’s teams. In fact, the 2018 and 2019 World Cups had $400 million and $30 million prize pots, respectively.

Now, players like Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan will receive the same bonus as USMNT (US Men’s National Team) players like Christian Pulisic. Starting with the 2022/23 World Cups, all prize money won by the two teams will be pooled and split equally.

Morgan and Horan, the two US captains for the 2023 tournament, are on salaries of $450,000 and $500,000, respectively. Horan recently broke Morgan’s record for the most expensive USWNT player in history with her $275,000 transfer to Lyon - just ahead of Morgan’s 2021 transfer to San Diego Wave of $265,000. However, there are still discrepancies in club pay; and these players’ salaries do not compare to the likes of Pulisic, who earns over $9.1 million.

England

• Women’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $363,601
• Men’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $9,180,376
• Gender Pay Gap: -2,425%

England go into the 2023 Women’s World Cup as one of the USWNT’s biggest rivals. After winning the Euros in 2022, the Lionesses have picked up similar media attention to the USWNT. However, their salary system is nowhere near as progressive as the Americans’ equal pay set-up.

The English women have some of the biggest names in women’s soccer, like Keira Walsh, who broke the record for the most expensive transfer fee in women’s soccer history ($400,000 to Barcelona). Despite this, their average salary is only $363,601, compared to the men’s $9,160,376.

However, alongside the USWNT’s success, FIFA is also making efforts to progress equal pay. In June, the World Cup’s governing body agreed that a portion of prize funds would be paid directly to every one of the 732 female players that participate in the 2023 World Cup.

Spain

• Women’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $54,537
• Men’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $7,944,771
• Gender Pay Gap: -14,468%

According to some of the best US sportsbooks, the Spanish team also goes into the tournament as one of the bookmakers’ favorites. The female team’s average salary is only $54,537, compared to the men’s average of almost $8 million.

Most players earn around $28,000, but the average salary is dragged up by several key players like Alexia Putellas. Putellas, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2022, has a salary of $327,000. This amount is dwarfed by 2022 Golden Ball winner Gavi’s $7 million salary.

Germany

• Women’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $92,874
• Men’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $8,554,620
• Gender Pay Gap: -9,111%

The German team also boasts some notable female stars, with names such as Lena Oberdorf and Alexandra Popp presumably bringing the team average up to $92,874. However, this does not compare to the men’s average salary of $8,554,620 - especially not to Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s salary of over $19 million.

France

• Women’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $84,029
• Men’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $10,765,661
• Gender Pay Gap: -1,2712%

After hosting the 2019 World Cup, France has had a rocky few years but looks set to challenge for the World Cup title in 2023. The women’s team average is over $10.6 million lower than the men’s, with most players earning around $26,000. Kylian Mbappe, the men’s star striker, is one of the highest earners of all time, receiving a salary of $59.6 million.

Australia

• Women’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $87,736
• Men’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $569,765
• Gender Pay Gap: -549%

Australia boasts the smallest percentage gap between its 2 teams’ average salaries (excluding the US). The women earn an average salary of $482,000 less than the men’s team, though this is still 549% less. Top earners include Sam Kerr, a world-class forward with a $512,000 salary. Meanwhile, some men’s players receive up to $4 million - though the highest-earning female players still earn more than the lowest-earning male players.

Kicking off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand, it will be the first Women’s World Cup competition guaranteeing every female player at least $30,000. It still doesn’t compare to male player compensation, but it is a big step in the right direction.

Canada

• Women’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $120,772
• Men’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $1,033,892
• Gender Pay Gap: -756%

The Canada women’s national team is also in the running for the World Cup title after their Olympic gold medal in 2020. You can even explore these odds and up the excitement using the best sportsbook promos. Christine Sinclair, the most capped international (male or female) player in soccer history, receives $380,000. Many men’s players earn more than this, but the Canadians’ difference in average salary comes in at $913,000, or -756%. This figure is actually the third smallest numerical value of all the federations after Australia and the US.

Argentina

• Women’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $4,200
• Men’s World Cup Team Average Salary: $7,324,540
• Gender Pay Gap: -174,294%

Taking the number one spot on our list of the biggest pay gaps between Men’s and Women’s soccer teams is Argentina. With an average annual team salary of just $4,200 compared to the Men’s $7.3 million, we’re looking at a massive pay gap of 174,294%. There’s no doubt that Lionel Messi’s $44.7 million salary drives up the Men’s team’s average. However, with every male player looking at an annual salary of over $1.2 million, that’s still over a million dollars more than what the women receive.

Gender Pay Gap Summary

Even though we’ve only discussed eight World Cup teams, you will see below that the average salary for Women’s teams is drastically less in many more countries. However, it’s great to see the USWNT leading the way in the fight for equality and FIFA making efforts to progress equal pay.