Female teams competing in the Women’s FA Cup should be paid at the same rate as their male counterparts, according to a leading union.
GMB claims that women’s teams will only receive a mere £850 for taking part in the first round of the cup competition.
Men’s teams, in contrast, will pocket a hefty £22,629 for competing in the same round in the FA Cup.
GMB’s London region also found that women’s teams will receive less than five per cent of the prize money awarded to men’s teams throughout the FA Cup.
The issue surrounding equal pay in the FA Cup was flagged after women’s side Clapton, which is supported by the GMB, punched their ticket to the third round.
Clapton came up against Plymouth Argyle Ladies after reaching the third round for the first time, only for the GMB to learn that a win would earn £1,250.
The £1,250 earnings are dwarfed by the men’s winnings in a third-round tie, which stands at a whopping £82,000.
Warren Kenny, who is the London regional secretary for GMB, has urged the English FA to “level up” women’s pay to equal men’s in the FA Cup.
“For women’s teams competing in the FA Cup first round proper, the prize money is £850 compared with £22,629 for men’s teams in the same round,” she said.
“Overall, the total prize money for the women’s FA Cup is £309,000, which is shared by 300 teams.
“This compares with £15.9million for the men’s FA Cup, which is shared by 735 teams. As an average per team over the whole competition, women’s teams get less than 5 per cent of the prize money paid to men’s teams.
“The FA should level up the prize money available for women’s teams in the FA Cup to the level paid to the men’s teams in the same competition. This should be an important policy commitment by the whole football community. There is money in the game to facilitate this.
“One option could be to secure a sponsor who is committed to levelling up the prize money for women’s teams in the FA Cup.”
The English FA agreed to a landmark decision in 2020 for England Women to be paid the same as the men’s team, but a huge disparity still exists in the sport.
The Irish FA has followed in the footsteps of its English counterpart by establishing equal pay between the international teams for men and women.
However, England and Manchester City Women captain Steph Houghton has previously claimed women’s teams shouldn’t be on equal pay until they sell out stadiums like their male counterparts.
Former Manchester United Women manager Casey Stoney also believe women’s football must bring in more revenue before securing equal pay to men’s football.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Adnan Riaz