Australian athletes known as the Matildas, nickname given to the country’s women’s soccer team, released a video in which they denounced the gender disparity in the prize offered to World Cup winners, expressing support for players who were denied “the basic right” to reach a collective agreement in their salary negotiations. The video, backed by Australia’s professional players union, features all members of the Women’s World Cup co-host team and comes amid wage disputes raging across several teams playing in the tournament that kicks off on Thursday. ) . With the @FIFAWWC kicking off this Thursday, our @TheMatildas have a message for those who paved the way. For those who broke down barriers and fought for progress. For the past. For the future.For those within our football community, our fans, our sponsors, our politicians,… pic.twitter.com/gVImezbX30 — Professional Footballers Australia (@thepfa) July 16, 2023 The Matildas went on strike in 2015 to demand better salaries and received the same minimum percentage of tournament prize money as the Australian men’s team, the Socceroos, since a 2019 collective agreement. which was offered to men’s teams at last year’s World Cup in Qatar. “Seven hundred and thirty-six female soccer players are honored to represent their countries on the biggest stage of this tournament, but many still lack the basic right to organize and bargain collectively,” the players say in the video. “Collective bargaining has enabled us to ensure that we now have the same conditions as the Socceroos, with one exception – FIFA will still only offer women a quarter of the prize money that men receive for the same achievement.” FIFA, the global governing body, had no immediate comment. The total prize pool for the Women’s World Cup is US$110 million (R$529.1 million), about 300% more than what FIFA offered for the 2019 tournament in France. * Additional reporting by Amy Tennery in Auckland ** Reproduction of this content is prohibited.
Agência Brasil
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