By NIKOLE JAVIER
Members of the Philippine national women’s football team are going to receive at least $30,000 (roughly P1.65 million) from FIFA (International Football Federation) for their participation alone in the 2023 Women’s World Cup this July.
The Filipinas, who are about to make their maiden appearance in the global football showpiece, will be earning individual participation fees in the group stage.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, the football governing body will be directly awarding the fees to each player.
“I think each player will get $30,000 and that’s a big boost of morale for our players. Just to be there they’ll get $30,000 each,” said Philippine Football Federation President Nonong Araneta.
They will receive more if they further progress in the competition.
In efforts to reduce the reward gap between the Men’s World Cup and the women’s game, FIFA will pay out three times more than it did in the previous edition in 2019.
A combination of performance-based fund, club benefits program and preparation money sum up the payout.
The 46th-ranked Filipinas will be facing Norway (No. 12), Switzerland (No. 20) and host nation New Zealand (No. 25) in Group A.
The Pinay booters are headed to Australia for camp this month before flying out to New Zealand for their historic participation in the global meet.
