But the financial rewards for women’s teams and their players at the end of the tourney revealed a more subtle gulf. The $2 million prize, though double the purse from the 2011 Women’s World Cup, is only one-quarter the $8 million that men’s teams earned from losing in the first round of last year’s World Cup.
Men’s teams played for a total of $576 million in World Cup prizes last year, compared to the $15 million up for grabs from women’s teams this year. For perspective, that’s less than what FIFA paid to make “United Passions,” the league’s $27 million history film, which was almost universally panned and made only $918 (yes, less than $1,000) at the American box office.
FIFA has defended its bigger prize pool by pointing to the mens’ tourney’s size and age: The World Cup brings in $4.5 billion in direct revenue and has been played 20 times, compared to the seven Women’s World Cups.
But the extra millions would have gone a long way for the National Women’s Soccer League, America’s most elite professional soccer corps, which set minimum salaries this season at $6,842 — about one-ninth what male players in Major League Soccer make at the low end, about $60,000.
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