FIFA commits $152M to Women's World Cup in July

The GIST: FIFA is officially paying up. World soccer’s governing body announced yesterday that it will commit $152M — including $110M in prize money — to July’s Women’s World Cup (WWC), and plans to finally dole out equal earnings to men and women at following World Cups. Took them long enough.

The details: The $110M prize purse is a 300% increase from the 2019 WWC, when FIFA awarded just $30M. FIFA will spend the remaining $42M on WWC prep, up from $20M in 2019, while newly re-elected president Gianni Infantino promised equal conditions for the women.

• Infantino believes a portion of the prize purse should be strictly earmarked for players, but offered no exact number. His comments come after global players’ union FIFPro suggested 30% of WWC winnings go straight to the athletes.

The sponsors: The FIFA prez also confirmed that Visit Saudi will not sponsor the WWC after having “a discussion that didn’t lead into a contract.” Saudi Arabia’s tourism arm was poised to buy WWC–specific inventory, but won’t be an official partner after widespread (and well-earned) criticism of the country’s women’s rights record.

Zooming out: Yesterday’s victories must once again be attributed to the players. Female footballers have advocated for equality throughout the sport’s existence, and are building quite the winning streak. Champions on and off the field.