“The focus is on football,” Ramona Bachmann told reporters in Dunedin, New Zealand. Alisha Lehmann was of the same opinion. “It’s a process,” she says. Compared to the last World Championship, the premium has increased. “In 2027, we will see if things are the same,” Lehmann says.

FIFA pays $30,000 per player in the group stage. It doesn’t matter how many minutes someone played in the tournament. “If you suddenly get this, it’s a lot of money,” says Ana Maria Crnogorcevic. In countries such as Spain, this is equivalent to the average annual salary, explains the Barcelona player.

In the end, the 23 world champions will receive $270,000 each, for a total of over $6.2 million. For the current World Cup, FIFA pays a total of $110 million. At the Men’s World Cup in Qatar last year, there were a total of 440 million. A few days before the kickoff game, Australian players put FIFA on video.

Important financial support

The Swiss first think about the $30,000 that each player on the team receives. “We have a lot of people working in our team,” emphasizes Tsrnogorchevich. Players took unpaid leave to participate in the tournament. “For them, the bonus is extremely important,” she emphasizes.

The Australian players in the video continued to demand that future generations not have to work alongside their football careers. The Swiss woman who volunteered to take her work laptop with her to New Zealand is Fabienne Hamm. According to her, it cannot be taken for granted that her employer will grant her indefinite leave. Humm consciously decided to take a double path. “It’s a good balance for me.”

“Giant Leap since 2015”

Hamm saw the video of the Australians. “If you look at the development since 2015, you will see that a huge leap has been made,” says the striker. For now, you should be satisfied. But: “For the next tournaments, there must be one more step, that’s clear,” she demands.

In the past, FIFA funds were distributed only to national associations, which, in turn, determined the prize money for the teams themselves. Bonuses are now paid directly to World Cup players. Associations receive additional payments – associations of future world champions, for example, again over 4 million dollars.

Meriam Terchun also sees the FIFA bonus as a good start. “Finally, this is what we deserve and what we are entitled to,” she says. After all, every day they will work hard for football and for good results. In the future, the amount should be looked at again. “Women’s football will continue to evolve,” says the striker, who plays for Dijon FCO in France.