FIFA president Gianni Infantino calls for 'full equality' in football beyond Women's World Cup
Infantino's message to women: «Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights. You have the power to change. You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don't have to do. Just do it. With men, with FIFA, you will find open doors. Just push the doors. They are open»
Friday 18 August 2023 18:15, UK
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino feels equal pay at the Men's and Women's World Cups would only be a «symbol» that would not «solve anything» if additional development targets for the women's game are not achieved.
On Sunday, England will play Spain in the final for their share of an increased prize pot of $110m (£86.1m) for this tournament, more than three times than what was on offer for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France, but still significantly less than the $440m (£346m) awarded at the 2022 men's competition in Qatar.
Infantino has previously outlined ambitions for prize parity by the 2026 and 2027 World Cups but two days before the conclusion of the ninth edition of the women's showpiece, challenged stakeholders to do more.
Infantino said: «Let's really go for a full equality. Not just equal pay in the World Cup, which is a slogan that comes up every now and then. Equal pay in the World Cup, we are going in that direction already.
»But that would not solve anything. It might be a symbol but it would not solve anything, because it's one month every four years and it's a few players out of the thousands and thousands of players. We need to keep the momentum. We need to push it. We need to go for equality but we have to do it for real."
The president also drew criticism for his closing remarks, which some felt placed an undue burden on women
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