Wales become first nation to agree equal pay within football
Wales become the first football association to agree equal pay between both the men’s and women’s senior national teams. The agreement has been brought into effect immediately, as of January 18th 2023. The agreement will be enforced up to and including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Both the Men and Women’s National Teams have released the following joint statement: “Together Stronger has been the mantra across the Cymru National Teams for us all, both on and off the pitch as we look to put Wales on the world stage. As part of the FAW’s strive towards equality, we are now proud to announce that together, our Men’s and Women’s teams have agreed to an equal pay structure for future international matches. We hope that this will allow future generations of boys and girls to see that there is equality across Welsh International football, which is important for society as a whole. With this agreement in place, we will now look ahead to the UEFA EURO 2024 and 2025 qualifying campaigns, as we aim to see further success across both our senior teams in the near future.”
All of us here at Accelerate Sport are delighted with the decision made at the Football Association of Wales, and we hope to see other footballing nations follow in their footsteps in the quest for equal pay across all national teams.
This decision doesn’t just affect the current squads, but has been made with the players of the future in mind. We’re thrilled to see a clear message sent out not just to Wales, but the wider footballing world… football is for everyone, and football is equal.
FAW CEO, Noel Mooney said: “The FAW is a modern, progressive movement that seeks to improve each day. This is another step towards becoming one of the world’s great sports organisations and we thank both the Men’s and Women’s squads for their brilliant co-operation in getting this agreed.”
How does equal pay affect sport at a grassroots level?
The ratio between boys and girls participating in sport at grassroots level has improved drastically since the Lionesses lifted the EUROs last year, and this new announcement will hopefully see an extra boost in the number of girls participating in sport from a young age.
Research carried out by Women in Sport has revealed that a large percentage of girls still have a dislike or lack of motivation for sport. 70% of girls surveyed said they dislike sport, and 13% of those say they find it hard to motivate themselves. So what can still be done to ensure the increase of girls participating in sport?
Do you want to learn how to engage more girls in sport?
Accelerate Sport partnered with Women in Sport to create the ‘Engaging Teenage Girls in Sport’ online course. The course will give you realistic steps that will help you engage with teenage girls within your sport.
Creating inclusive and welcoming environments for girls in sport is crucial to ensure that they have the same opportunities to participate and excel as boys. By providing girls with access to quality facilities and equipment, flexible schedules, role models, financial assistance, and support and encouragement, and by addressing societal attitudes and supporting and celebrating girls’ achievements, we can create a more equal and inclusive sporting environment for all.
ENROL: Engaging Teenage Girls in Sport eLearning course
Watch the following video for a preview of the course: