Lionesses’ victory against Germany sparks calls for ‘equal prize money and pay’

Yesterday saw the Lionesses ‘bring it home’ after they secured a 2 – 1 victory over Germany in England’s Euro 2022 final at Wembley Stadium.

The match has been named the most-watched women’s football game on UK television, after the BBC shared television audience numbers reached 17.4m, while a further 5.9m streams of the game on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport site and app were also counted.

But despite this mass interest and support for the game, a clear pay gap has been identified between England’s Lionesses and Gareth Southgate’s men’s team.

While the men’s team were unsuccessful in the final match against Italy in the Euro 2020 at Wembley last summer, they were tipped to earn a £460,000 bonus if they did secure the win, reported The Sun.

The men got £300,000 for reaching the final alone last year.

In contrast, the women who played all six games in the Euros 2022 tournament would pocket £2,000 a match and are set to receive a £55,000 bonus now they have won, a stark difference between what the men could have earnt if they also won.

This prize package was agreed with The FA before the tournament kicked off.

Women in Sport has spoken out, slamming the pay difference, questioning why equal pay shouldn’t be asked for by team members.

The charity added: “Why shouldn’t we ask for equal prize money and pay? We are already seeing this across tennis and cricket.

“This expresses and demonstrates the value that these teams bring to sport. Increased investment is vital across every level of women’s sport.

“For girls to realise their aspirations they need a place to do this on their doorsteps. This should be the legacy of the Euros.”

Despite the criticism, some female team members are said to have described the figure they have earnt as life changing due to the pay gap being even bigger at club level.

For example, on average the salary in the Women’s Super League is just £30,000 a year, which is a hundredth of the £3m many of the male players in the Premier League pocket.

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