FIFA chief Infantino says women should ‘pick the right battles’ in equal pay fight
SMILING: England’s Alessia Russo during a pre-World Cup final press conference
Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has urged women’s football to “pick the right battles” in the fight for equal pay while placing the onus on women to enforce the change.
He reckons women who "pick the right fights" can "convince men what we have to do" to bring further progress in the game.
Infantino said equal pay at the men’s and women’s tournaments could only be a “symbol” and would not “solve anything” if additional development targets are not achieved. He then urged women to push doors he claimed are already left open by his organisation and those running the men’s game.
“And I say to all the women, and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home, I say to all the women that you have the power to change. Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights. You have the power to change. You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don’t have to do. You do it. Just do it. With men, with Fifa, you will find open doors. Just push the doors. They are open.”
The Women's World Cup climaxes on Sunday in Sydney where England play Spain in the final at Stadium Australia (11am Irish).
Speaking in Sydney, Infantino said women must "push the door" to equality. "With men, with Fifa, you will find open doors. Just push the doors," he added.
Infantino said Friday the Women's World Cup had generated more than €520m in revenue and enabled soccer's global governing body to break even, despite raising the prize purse tenfold compared to the 2015 edition.
The Swiss, in a typically combative speech, said the ninth edition of the FIFA showpiece event had been the "best and greatest and biggest", and vindicated the decision to raise the prize money and expand the field from 24 to 32 teams.
"Some voices were raised, would it cost too much? We don't make enough revenues, we will have to subsidise. And our opinion was, well if we have to subsidise, we will subsidise, because we have to do that," he told the FIFA Women's Football Convention.
"But actually, this World Cup generated over 570 million U.S. dollars in revenues, and so we broke even. We didn't lose any money and we generated the second highest income of any sport, besides of course the men's World Cup, at a global stage."
That was one of the few comparisons to men's football in Infantino's speech. The €400m prize purse for the men's World Cup in Qatar is still considerably more than the €140m being shared by the women in Australia and New Zealand.
"I say to all the women, you have the power to change. Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights," Infantino said.
"Just keep pushing, keep the momentum, keep dreaming, and let's really go for a full equality. Not just equal pay in the World Cup, which is a slogan that comes up every now and then.
"Equal pay in the World Cup, we are going in that direction already. But that would not solve anything ... because it's one month every four years and it's a few players out of the thousands and thousands of players."
Infantino also rounded on critics of the choice of Australia and New Zealand as hosts and of the tournament's expansion.
"I remember when we decided to do that, of course the usual critics, which are less and less, were saying it's not going to work and the level is too different," he said.
"There would be 15-0 scores, it will be bad for women's football and its image. I'm sorry but FIFA was right. FIFA was right. As it happens quite often in the last years, FIFA was right once more."
Norway striker Ada Hegerberg responded to Infantino's comments on Twitter, writing: "Working on a little presentation to convince men. Who's in?"
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