In A Landmark Move Australia's Women Footballers To Get Equal Pay

From here onwards, the women and men's football team of Australian will be paid equally. Call it a landmark moment for gender equality in sport, women footballers playing for Australia's national team, the Matildas, will receive equal paycheck as their male counterparts, a new contract system unveiled by Football Federation Australia (FFA) on Wednesday, CNN reported. As per their salary goes, top female players will also get a raise which is now A$100,000 (£53,000; $69,000), BBC reported.

Under the contract it is also announced that like the men soccer players, women footballers too will enjoy the privilege of travelling in business class flights to international fixtures, and tournaments. They will also receive similar training conditions as men.

Meanwhile, America's women footballers have filed an equal pay lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation, scheduled to be heard in May next year. Australia's pay equality move will definitely be a boost for the hearing. “Football is the game for everyone, and this new collective bargaining agreement is another huge step toward ensuring that we live the values of equality, inclusivity and opportunity,” said FFA chairman Chris Nikou in a statement.

Key Takeaways:

• Australia's women's football team, the Matildas, will be paid equally - a historic deal unveiled. According to the deal, they will earn equal pay and entitlements on many key measures as their male counterparts.
• Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced that the top male and female players will be on the same pay scale.
• The Matildas are currently ranked 8th in the world while Australia's men's team, the Socceroos, come in 44^th.

“This is truly a unique agreement. Every national team, from the Socceroos and Matildas, down to the Youth National Teams as well as the Cerebral Palsy National Teams have been contemplated in this new CBA,” Nikou explained.

“This is a massive step taken to close the gender pay gap between the Socceroos and the Matildas,” said FFA chief executive David Gallop, BBC reported.

Cheers to Matildas' famous stars like Sam Kerr and Ellie Carpenter who will be paid equally as Socceroos like Aaron Mooy and Mat Ryan. Reacting to the news, Matildas midfielder Elise Kellond-Knight said the deal showed “respect” towards women. “As a female footballer, it's kind of what we always dreamed of,” she said.

There's been an increase from 30 to 40 percent in players' share of prize money earned on qualifying for a World Cup. However, to mention here clearly, the men will keep earning more as the prize money are typically offered bigger at their matches. The Matildas are currently ranked 8th in the world while Australia's men's team, the Socceroos, stands at 44th.

FFA chief David Gallop said, “It's been clear for everybody how much the women's game has grown over the past few years and how well our Matildas have been doing. It really drove home for me in these negotiations that they got what they deserved. Going forward, what a value they are to the Australian football community.”

Professional Footballers Australia chief John Didulica called the agreement “unique” in world football.

READ: Meet Brishti Bagchi: First Indian Woman Player In Spanish Football League

Feature Image Credit: english.kalerkantho.com

Read More Stories By Ria Das