Female footballers finally paid the same amount as men

Well, it’s time. Today – two weeks before the Women’s European Football Championship kicks off in England – the National Football Association (KNVB) announced that from 1 July this year, female footballers from commercial activities will earn the same as their male colleagues. One small step for a woman, a big step for mankind. Or well: a really big promotion for the ladies and a real liberating breakthrough for us humans. But with a warning.

Women get the same amount as men

Let’s start with this warning: Why did it take so long? The answer to that is complex and ultimately boils down to eternity – or rather: millennia, since the dawn of history – women have struggled for the same rights and benefits as men. This answer deserves a longer article than this, of course, because it’s a topic that ranges from women’s suffrage to paternity leave and equal pay, so let’s stick with the sports world for now.

For example, unequal prize money in tennis is a well-known phenomenon. In 1968, Wimbledon winners received £2,000 and £750 for the women’s. The amount wasn’t settled until 2007 and both men and women got 7 tons (which is an unobtrusive amount anyway).