The Lionesses' Share – Fair Pay in Women’s Football

Blog Post Written by Tom Moore, Solicitor at Cole Khan Solicitors LLP

As the England women’s football team prepare to return home from their World Cup exploits, off the pitch, they are due to continue their dispute with the FA in respect of their bonus payments.

Ahead of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, captain Millie Bright announced that while they were “disappointed”, they would put the issue on hold while the tournament took place.

The pay gap in women’s football

There is a huge disparity in pay between elite male and female footballers. Leah Williamson, captain of the England’s victorious Euro 2022 team, is reported to have earned around £200,000 in the 2021/22 season. England men’s captain Harry Kane is reported to have earned this same sum per week prior to his move from Tottenham.

The sheer amount of money that circulates through the men’s game goes some way to explaining why the difference is quite so stark. The attendances, gate receipts, and multi-billion pound television rights deals in elite men’s football often dwarf the numbers that we see in the women’s game. While societal factors may play some part in explaining the big gap, there are certainly some active decisions that have held women’s football back, including the fact that the FA effectively outlawed women’s football for 50 years. Prior to the ban in 1921, women’s football enjoyed relative parity to the men’s game, and had seen record attendances in excess of 50,000.

Is there an equal pay claim?

On the face of it, women footballers are doing the same job as the men. After all, both are kicking a ball around for 90 minutes with a view to scoring more goals than the opposition team.

In order to be eligible to bring an equal pay claim under the Equality Act, a person (“A”) must:

·         be employed, or hold personal or public office; and

·         do work that is equal

·         to that of a specified comparator (“B”)

For the purposes of the relevant legislation, A's work is equal to that of B if it is:

·         like B’s work; or

·         rated as equivalent to B’s work; or

·         of equal value to B’s work

The legal tests in respect of equal work are complex and fact specific.

The definition of “pay” should include contractual bonuses, but may not necessarily include non-contractual bonuses and benefits.

In the case of footballers, the issue would be further complicated due to the complex framework of agreements between the players and their clubs (and countries), the relevant governing authorities, and the commercial arrangements between the league, television companies, and other bodies.

Searching for legal remedies

Women’s football is no stranger to disputes relating to pay and conditions.

Last year, the US Women’s national team (who have arguably outshone their male counterparts on the world stage, winning two World Cups) succeeded in securing a victory for equal pay. After a near three-year legal wrangle, it was reported that they had reached a deal with US Soccer worth around  $24 million.

In 2019, around 200 women footballers in the Spanish first division voted to strike in respect of proposed minimum wages, with unions asking for at least €20,000.

As to the world champions, several of Spain’s biggest stars formally wrote to their Football Federation asking not to be called up to their national team, citing their manager’s treatment of them, which they claimed caused harm to their emotional state and health. The manager remains in post, and several of the players remain ‘exiled’ from the squad.

Growth of the women’s game

One would hope that as women’s football grows in popularity and profile, the pay disparity will fall away.

There have been some glimpses of hope in this respect. This World Cup has smashed previous attendance records, and since 2020 the FA has had a policy of paying equal appearance fees to men and women representing England.

As to FIFA – the international governing body – they announced a more equitable distribution of payments for this year’s Women’s World Cup, which guarantees a certain level of payments to players.

There is, however, still a long way to go. While FIFA president Gianni Infantino sought to bring more money into women’s football by pushing broadcasters to pay more for the World Cup broadcast rights, his commitment has been questioned, as he was spotted leaving the World Cup to spend some time in Tahiti just days into the start of the tournament.

The amount of money in football is huge, and it remains the case that the men are getting the lion’s share. It is telling that both teams that reached the Women’s World Cup final are embroiled in disputes relating to pay and conditions.

It is incumbent on clubs, governing bodies, and broadcasters, to play their part in ensuring that women footballers are paid fairly and equitably, and that the gap between men’s and women’s football is reduced. Too many times, players have had to take matters into their own hands.

If you are a woman who has been paid less than your male peers, you may have legal claims. Contact Tom Moore or any of the team at Cole Khan for expert advice on 0207 406 7440 or hello@colekhan.co.uk