The English Football Association (FA) has announced there will be a ‘significant increase’ in prize money for the Women’s FA Cup next season after criticism of the disparity in financial rewards with the men’s competition.
The prize money for winning this season’s men’s FA Cup final is £1.8 million with £900,000 for the runners-up.
For the women’s competition, the winner gets £25,000 while the runner up goes home with £15,000.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, whose side were the 2020/21 winners, was this week quoted by a number of national newspapers as saying the disparity was “completely unacceptable”.
In a British parliamentary debate on women’s football on 26th January Alison McGovern, the MP for Wirral South, said there was “absolutely no objective justification for that incredible disparity in prize money”.
The FA disclosed it has invested over £50m into its initial ‘Gameplan for Growth’ strategy which doubled female participation, delivered professional and semi-professional women’s football and a successful England team.