Last Sunday marked the end of the women’s soccer championship – the U.S. women reigning victorious over Japan. This week, however, FIFA is garnering a great deal of media attention, specifically regarding the pay the women have received, or lack thereof. While a payout of $2 million may not sound too bad, it is just one-quarter of the $8 million the USA men's team got last summer for reaching the round-of-16 in the men's World Cup. Each of the men’s teams made $1.5 million just for making the tournament. While these numbers do not look good for FIFA, they speak to a larger issue – women’s soccer simply isn’t taken as seriously by FIFA as men’s soccer is.
This year’s women’s championship has attracted more attention than most women’s sporting events, and yet it is undeniable that the men’s games are far more popular. The men’s games have bigger stars, bigger audiences and bigger sponsors. Are women's sports less funded and less monetized because numbers show they're of less interest to the average sports fan? Or would they grow into much bigger entities if sponsors invested more money into them? While many argue that the substantial pay gap is just another example of sexism – similar to the pay gap in Hollywood – it is important to consider the funding women’s soccer is getting in the first place. This isn't to say the massive pay gap between women's and men's World Cup teams is justified by any means, or to excuse the other examples of blatant sexism this World Cup. Instead, it is to add context that the men's tournaments and leagues, like the NBA as opposed to the WNBA as an example, is an infinitely bigger business than women's sports.
Regardless of how much the players are earning, the evidence still shows a clear disregard for the value of women’s soccer. FIFA’s President, Sepp Blatter, has been suggesting for quite some time that women would have a larger audience if they only wore sexier uniforms.
"They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female esthetic, so why not do it in fashion?"
Putting the atrocious sexism of this quote aside, it is ridiculous to claim that women play with a lighter ball, which is a completely false statement. This was followed by a tone-deaf story by FIFA on U.S. forward Alex Morgan, which in the first two sentences managed to switch the focus from her athletic ability to her good looks. Ultimately, women are still being told that their looks are paramount in comparison to their athletic ability.
While the business of women’s sports creates a much lesser revenue than the business of their male counterparts, that should not be to say that women’s sports are of lesser value. A male athlete’s ability to get the ball in the net is not dependent on his looks or the length of his shorts. The same is true of women.
Jennifer Hamilton is a local student and aspiring writer.
