Subtitle, "it's not about pay, it's about respect!" A report from Argentina this week: - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018...l-team-fighting-equality-180630131707121.html Previously the team have gone on strike: http://www.excellesports.com/news/argentina-womens-soccer-on-strike/ (Archived) Similar disputes (and not-so-similar) have happened in: Australia http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-...s-pay-dispute-could-spark-real-change/6767916 Denmark http://www.womenssoccerzone.com/danish-federation-and-players-in-deadlock-as-situation-intensifies/ (Archived) (including a forfeited qualifier in Sweden - DBU got a suspended UEFA ban) Ireland https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/39493537 (because of incredibly poor treatment from the FAI) Nigeria https://www.independent.co.ug/nigeria-womens-football-team-protest-sixth-day/ Scotland https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/40344365 U.S. https://www.thenation.com/article/us-womens-soccer-just-scored-a-big-win/ (Archived) ....and there's probably some more. It's obvious there isn't a perfect and easily-agreed solution everywhere, (Or is there?), especially in situations where players and clubs/FAs may all be under financial pressure. But it's been great to see the progress – Norway are now able to pay their men's and women's NTs equally, and the English club Lewes FC promised to do the same.at semi-professional level. TLDR: Let's go on strike
Italy (2015) https://fifpro.org/news/fifpro-supports-strike-action-italian-women/en/ Australia (2015) https://fifpro.org/news/fifpro-fully-supports-matildas-in-cba-battle/en/ https://fifpro.org/news/pfa-australia-agrees-with-new-cba/en/ Finaland (2018) https://www.fifpro.org/news/finland-probes-possible-gender-discrimination-in-football/en/ The solution is kind of already in place: In some countries constitution guarantee the right to equal pay for equal work regardless of gender. Others (like Finland), whose constitution does not include any relevant provisions specific for equal pay for equal work, tend to tackle the problem from the other side (gender discrimination). The question of easily or not-agreed becomes then irrelevant. Yes it is. Along with Norway and Lewes FC we have now equal pay in: New Zealand (2018) https://fifpro.org/news/new-zealand-s-men-help-broker-equal-pay-deal/en/ and Iceland (2018) http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180209-what-iceland-can-teach-the-world-about-gender-pay-gaps Let's hope more countries will follow suit, especially in view of some frustrating findings from the latest World Economic Forum report where the results show we’re going backwards on gender parity across health, education, politics and the workplace for the first time since 2006. According to WEF calculations, an average gap of 32% (up from 31.7%) still remains and the reversal is being driven in part by declining gender equality in the workplace.
I always wondered why the French girls are not interested in those kind of actions actually. What the FFF gives to women players is nothing compared to the men.
A lot of countries have such laws, and it's all very well in progressive places like Scandinavia which might actually enforce the law. But it seems decades away from happening in a meaningful way in football - like getting rich clubs to pay their men's and women's teams equally. Those clubs would probably also have legal arguments to hide behind, to justify a pay disparity? (Like if two teammates get very different pay for the same amount of work.) Apparently the FA WSL pays no prize money at all....? - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-41685042 The Lewes FC story is inspiring, and I really hope it works out for them: - https://sentherforward.wordpress.co...ality-campaign-takes-football-world-by-storm/ (Archived) (Also hope they can play Brighton in the Cup, in a "Who Is England's Most Liberal City" derby.) Lewes at Crystal Palace (pic: James Boyes, cc-by)
Ah, good... I was hoping you'd know. They don't seem to announce the amounts anywhere - whereas in the FA Cup they go into great detail.
The amount of money paid to clubs is not published by the FA, but it is very small according to all the people I spoke to.
Andreas Heraf steps down as New Zealand coach amid player revolt https://equalizersoccer.com/2018/07...down-as-new-zealand-coach-amid-player-revolt/
Already mentioned Argentina in the OP, but here's another article: https://nacla.org/news/2018/07/31/battlefield-gender-equality?platform=hootsuite Lots of politics and poor pay
Puerto Rico's WNT has now taken its stand against its federation: https://equalizersoccer.com/2018/09...ransparency-better-treatment-from-federation/
World Cup news – women's teams from faraway continents will fly 'business class' to the finals, if it's more than a 4-hour flight. FIFA finally reacts to the complaint "men's teams fly first class, women's fly economy", but it only affects World Cups. Also: compensation for clubs during World Cups, changes regarding team hotels, and the likely increase in prize money. - https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer...id-for-women-s-world-cup-20180921-p50546.html (Archived) The flight rules will affect Australia, who've qualified for France 2019 already: Business class: Look at all the legroom (pic: Alex Beltyukov, cc-by-sa) There's no word whether this trickles down to less fortunate nations. A corporate-level team bus or something...
Women's World Cup prize money is going up from $15m to $30m. But here's the crux of the matter: "#GenderPayGap has increased to $370 million from $343 million" (FIFpro, 26 Oct 2018)
Switzerland's FC Basel got its women's team into the news headlines far and wide, but not for anything good. - https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-46317727 (Archived) - https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/22/...mens-team-tombola-tickets-spt-intl/index.html (Archived) - www.20min.ch/sport/fussball/story/FCB-demuetigt-sein-Frauenteam-16779984 (Archived)
In England, a clause in FA WSL contracts says that players can be sacked after 3 months out injured, according to documents obtained by Danish media: - https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46318375 If only the FA had any reputation to start with. Suzanne Wrack had a rundown of how WSL teams' finances stack up, with the vast majority of their external income coming from commercial sources.
It is well know, you cannot have a competitive team in the FA WSL without a men's team money ( budget above 2M£)
Good news! Jamaican women's football was the subject of a clunky satirical cartoon. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/tools/cartoons/20181222 (Archived) To explain the joke, because there aren't enough written labels(!) – the player no.7 (must be Chinyelu Asher!) represents the Reggae Girlz themselves. And the bag with the "$" sign = sponsorship money that they hope to get from SOME private sector businesses. Not sure why the guy has a "$" on his hat too. He must be rich. Anyway, "GOVT" is short for "government", whose sport minister Olivia Grange is saying to the hat man, "Don't be a wagonist", which is good because nobody wants to be a wagonist. And that's why the cartoon is funny
Oh, and the reason the team were in the news yesterday – they were given the keys to the city of Montego Bay, and also the keys to the city of Kingston, which could be useful if they ever get locked out. The other headline: Qatar offered to fund a Jamaica training camp in Qatar, a decision that Qatar must have made at random, as they usually have little interest in women's football. - http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/spor...camp-for-girlz---ricketts_152307?profile=1498 (Archived)
Yes they should, now you mention it... I wrote a bit about it in the Middle East thread, 'sportwashing' their reputation... Qatar has also just hosted an England training camp Back in Argentina, there's a lawsuit against the federation (AFA) and champion club UAI Urquiza, from their player Macarena Sanchez: Possible unfair dealing - mentioned in FIFpro's article: "Are women footballers all considered amateur in Argentina?" "Yes. The players of all the teams in the Argentine women’s league are all regarded as amateur by clubs and the federation. Sanchez says that in reality many should be recognized as professionals. She says clubs disguise the professional status of women players from public authorities by paying them under the table or through jobs outside football." - https://fifpro.org/news/landmark-women-s-football-case-in-argentina/en/ (Archived)
Mentioned earlier how the FA goes into detail with its FA Cup prize money for each club. Well, Equality FC Lewes are on the case... "In an open letter, the club's directors point out the winners of the women's FA Cup collect £25,000 ... the total FA Cup prize fund for women's teams is £250,000 - less than 1% of the men's £30.25m." - (BBC Sport) (Maybe the FA just won't give any details in the future.) And the men's FA Cup is the competition that the clubs don't even care about. Lewes FC: demanding fairer prize money (Photo: James Boyes, cc-by)
ALEN STAJCIC: MY MATILDAS NIGHTMARE "The events of the last few weeks have devastated both me and my family. My career's in tatters and my reputation's been ruined."- Alen #Stajcic speaks after his sacking as @TheMatildas coach. pic.twitter.com/HWbsMTlV5m— FOX SPORTS News (@FOXSportsNews) February 11, 2019 What caught my eye (from the aricle) 1. "For the record, I wish to state categorically that, during my time as Matildas Head Coach – such tenure which commenced in 2014 - I have never witnessed, never participated in, and never acquiesced to the participation of others in any impropriety or misconduct relating to players or the Matildas set-up. 2. "I initiated a new team-building process, which commenced in January 2019, to lead us even further forward in the future and prepare us even better for the challenges that lay ahead. The Leadership and Team Culture camp was my idea, and had been planned for months." If there were no problems or issues why the creation of Team Culture camp - and at that supposedly planned for months ahead The way FFA did handled that whole thing though is very poor. Their vauge explanation allowed for media frenzy and all that hurt Stajcic career and reputation. He has cause for grivance against them. Instead they could just say that the results were unacceptable and save all the hassle. Looks like FFA had proverbial three options and went with middle one... 1. Full inquiry into the truth Price: Possible cut of unknown number of players from NT Fallout: Forget about WWC title run 2. Scapegoat Price: Sack the coach Fallout: Later pay him off 3. Sweep under the carpet Price: None Fallout: Risk a scandal later on and lose WWC bid
I have no idea what the Aussie situation is all about. But, I'm a retired lawyer and I'm very confident a lawyer wrote that statement.
The Australia team thread has had discussion: The Matildas Thread [R] - https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/the-matildas-thread-r.625716/page-9#post-37442908
There's an interview with Maca Sánchez from a few days ago about the lawsuit. She's now getting death threats because of her actions - a horrible business: - Autotranslated: www.clarin.com/deportes/futbol/uai-urquiza-solidarizo-macarena-sanchez-amenaza-muerte-recibio-ultimas-horas_0_NB1tENz0Y.html (Archived)
Thanks, when a women's NT thread is not located on the women's football section of BS, I usually miss it! (Said by the supporter of a team, Nadeshiko Japan, that probably has the bigger women's NT thread that's not in the women's section of BS ).