Contrary to reports making the rounds on social media of FIFA directly paying players at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, it can be concluded as fake news.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Tuesday, revealed that the players will not directly receive the payments. Instead, FIFA will issue the payments to each team’s federation, and then the federations will distribute the money to the players.
In June, FIFA had previously declared that every player taking part in the 2023 Women’s World Cup would receive a minimum of $30,000, representing a notable improvement compared to the 2019 tournament.
Infantino clarified that making payments directly to players is not an option for FIFA, as it operates as an association of associations. Therefore, all payments will be routed through the national football governing bodies, and these associations will be responsible for disbursing the funds to their respective players.
“We have issued recommendations but we are an association of associations. So whatever payments we do will be through the associations, and then the associations will make the relevant payments to their players.” Infantino stated.
Addressing the unique situations faced by different associations worldwide, such as taxation and residence issues, FIFA stated that they are actively engaged in discussions with each federation to ensure the smooth and equitable distribution of funds to the players.