Ireland women’s players to receive €2,000 per match in equal pay deal with FAI

The Republic of Ireland team prior to their Euro 2022 qualifier against Germany at Tallaght Stadium in 2020. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Ireland’s women’s players will receive €2,000 per match after the FAI agreed to equalise the pay with their male counterparts.

Under the deal, Stephen Kenny’s side will reduce their fee from €2,500 in a show of solidarity, with the FAI absorbing the difference to hoist the women’s equivalent from €500.

The landmark agreement, as revealed in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, is expected to cost the FAI around €250,000 per year but the financial benefits accruing from government and sponsors should more than defray that outlay in the medium term.

Despite senior manager Vera Pauw claiming the women’s team must generate commercial revenue to justify equal pay, it was inevitable the association, still trying to repair their image damaged by the governance and financial crisis of 2019, would have to compromise. Top women’s nations such as Brazil, Norway, England, and New Zealand had led the way by implementing parity while world champions USA are still undertaking court action in a bid to obtain identical rights.

Ciaran Medlar, the agent of Robbie Keane, was centrally involved in the negotiations on behalf of both squads. He had represented the men’s players when they brokered a qualification bonus for Euro 2016. The deal will kick in from the start of Ireland’s 2023 World Cup qualification campaign, which begins in Tbilisi against Georgia on September 17.

“This is a great day for Irish football,” declared Ireland captain Katie McCabe. “We have taken a huge step forward with this deal and have shown the world what can be achieved through unity as we offer male and female international players the same opportunities.

“I am very proud as Ireland captain of the work that has been put in to get us to this point, not just by the current team but by so many Irish players in the past. They are the real heroes in this story, they took a stand and they passed on the baton to the current generation.

“Seamus Coleman and his teammates in the men’s squad also deserve credit for being brave enough to support us in such a progressive way on this issue. It is really appreciated. I also want to thank Jonathan Hill and Ciaran Medlar for their roles in this agreement.

“The relationship between the FAI and the senior women’s team is stronger than I have ever known it and we look forward to continuing to work together to make Irish football better for everyone who plays our game, regardless of their identity or background.”

McCabe, now a regular at Arsenal, was just 21 when she stood behind Emma Byrne as the squad for the first time publicly complained of substandard treatment by the FAI.

In her personal statement issued yesterday, she lauded Byrne’s bravery, while also applauding the volunteers who sought to establish leagues and competitions for females. “It wasn’t until 1973 that Ireland played its first senior women’s international,” she noted with a hint of exasperation.

It is understood the Government, which rescued the FAI from potential examinership last year, pushed for the parity, as did sponsors.

The FAI remains without a main sponsor, only retaining partners for their League of Ireland and FAI Cup deals this year, and this move should lay the foundation to attract blue-chip companies.

Jonathan Hill, installed as the new permanent FAI chief executive last November, said: “This is another important milestone in the FAI’s own transformation journey and I believe this equal pay programme shows us to be the progressive footballing nation we have always aspired to be.”