UEFA, the governing body for European football, has recently announced that it will be doubling the prize money for the upcoming Women’s EURO 2022 Football Championship. The decision was approved at a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau, in which a new distribution model among the 16 qualified teams was also adopted.
However, the prize money still remains less than 5% of what men earn as prize money since, in the last competition, the team split a cash pot of €371 million.
UEFA Women’s EURO 2020 Prize Money Doubled
Sixteen Teams With a €16 Million Prize
UEFA claim that the 16 teams qualified to take part in the 2022 tournament in the UK will share a total of €16 million. This means that the pot has doubled from the last 2017 edition in the Netherlands. The amount that each team receives will be based on their performance throughout the competition and it includes increased guaranteed minimum amounts for each team.
An Increase in Popularity in Women’s Football
Women’s football has thoroughly increased in popularity, with the standard of players raising the bar each and every tournament. People have increasingly started betting on football and its players, including women players. Some of the top women football players include Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Lucy Bronze, Samantha Kerr, and others. In fact, a Unibet Australia review regarded the latter player, Sam Kerr, highly when she spearheaded the Matildas team with 77 caps and 31 goals for Australia already on her back.
An Added Club Benefits Programme
Apart from increasing the prize money, UEFA also included a club benefits programme, making €4.5 million available to clubs that include their players for the competition.
UEFA claim that ‘the increases in financial distributions and introduction of a club benefits programme are key strategic initiatives of UEFA’s Women’s Football Strategy — TimeForAction, ensuring that more money than ever before is distributed across the women’s game’.
Changes in Men’s Competitions
UEFA also announced new plans for the men’s club competitions, approved at its latest Executive Committee meeting, with new solidarity payments and increased shares for all non-top fie associations. About €175 million will also be made available to non-participating clubs from 2021 to 2024 which is an increase on the €130 million available from the 2018-2021 cycle, with €132.5 million reserved for member associations outside the top five countries of England, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France.
Women’s Euro 2022 in July
The next UEFA’s Executive Committee meeting will happen on the 16th of December in Montreux in Switzerland, coinciding with the draw for the 2022-2023 UEFA Nations League.
Following a delay to the men’s Euro 2020, the Women’s Euro 2022 has been pushed back and it will now occur from July 6th to July 31st in England. Wembley Stadium will be hosting the final, a stadium in the UK that holds 90,000 spectators. Wembley Stadium is not new to hosting such events, having already done so at this summer’s men’s tournament.
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