Is Nigeria leading the continent’s march towards gender pay equality for soccer stars?

While Nigeria continues to revel in the joy of the recent success of its team at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), it is important to take a critical look at the pay disparity between men and women in soccer and put in place lasting measures to ensure prompt payment of allowances and payments to teams as and when due. This blog highlights recent changes in Nigeria to the compensation packages of women representing the country in national and international sporting competitions. This is within the context of existing gender pay gaps between female and male players with female players often ending up with lower pay and incentives than their male counterparts.

Sports generally brings joy to fans globally. Soccer in particular draws massive viewership both online and physically, with a viewership of 2 billion viewers at the last women’s World Cup, and an average of 81 million viewers at the finals. Men’s finals had approximately 1.5 billion viewers at the finals alone [3][4] However, like other sports across the world, there is a gender pay gap between female and male players. Female players often end up with a much lower pay package and incentives than their male counterparts. This gender inequality has existed for decades and has been the subject of many contentious debates and advocacy to end an institutionalized gender bias in work and sport compensation.

Some progress has been recorded, for instance, Norway paved the way in 2017 by offering equal pay to male and female football players who represented the country in international games. This example has been adopted by other national football teams, including Wales, Brazil, Australia, and in 2022, the US Women’s National soccer team successfully obtained a settlement agreement after over a year of legal battle to have the same pay package as their male counterparts, including a USD 22 million compensation for past discrimination. [5][6]. Of the 211 member associations of FIFA, only about 11 (approximately 5%) have formalized equal pay. While changes are underway towards equality, more can be done.

The recent 10th victory of Nigeria’s female soccer team, Super Falcons, at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) sent seismic waves of joy across the country. Their recent reception by the president of Nigeria, President Ahmed Tinubu and his subsequent congratulatory message, cash gift (USD 100,000), house (3-bedroom apartments in Guzape, a very highbrow area of Abuja in the Federal Capital of Nigeria for each Super Falcon team member ), and National awards are highly commendable. Additionally, the prize money at WAFCON 2025 of USD 1 million exceeded the normal prize money that their male counterparts bring in from Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) (Approximately USD 250,000 to USD 500,000) [7]. Unlike past experiences, the allowances and bonuses were paid to the female players before the final tournament as mandated by the President. This is a heartwarming development if it were to continue.

Can and will Nigeria lead the continent’s march towards an era of equity and equality in pay packages for men's and women's soccer? Will this happen regardless of whether female participants get to the finals or advanced levels of the international stages of tournaments they participate in? Will other nations take a cue from Nigeria’s exemplary step to bridge the gap between the compensation for both its men's and women's sport teams?

The 5th sustainable development goal, SDG 5, is “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, with one of its targets being “Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels”.[1][2]

Conclusion

The entire world is still far from achieving equal pay, especially n sports, and has a long way to go in achieving equality. While Nigeria continues to reel in the joy of the recent success of its team at the WAFCON, it is important to take a critical look at the pay disparity between men and women in soccer and put in place lasting measures to ensure equity and equality in pay. This commendable decision of Nigeria to handsomely reward its female football team should be institutionalized as a policy for all men and women sport teams and not just a one-off event. Nigeria should leverage the joy and precedent set by the current administration exemplified in the generous payout and gifts to the women's team. Nigeria can take on a leadership role in Africa in closing the pay gap at the very least in soccer. This directly impacts on the country's progress in achieving Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nigeria has spoken, let the rest of the world listen and take a cue!

Reference

1. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5

2. SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls https://www.unwomen.org/en/node/36060#:~:text=Women%20and%20girls%2C%2 0everywhere%2C%20must,violations%20in%20the%20world%20today.

3. In numbers-FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ https://inside.fifa.com/tournament-organisation/world-cup-2022-in-numbers

4. The FIFA Women’s World Cup is closing its gap with the men’s tournament https://beyond.ubc.ca/the-fifa-womens-world-cup-is-closing-its-gap-with-the-mens-tournament/

5. Norway’s footballers sign historic equal pay agreement https://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/14/football/norway-football-equal-pay-agreement

6. U.S. Soccer, USWNT Players Reach Agreement to Resolve Longstanding Equal Pay Dispute https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2022/02/us-soccer-uswnt-players-reach-agreement-to-resolve-longstanding-equal-pay-dispute

7. WAFCON: Super Falcons clinch 10th title, pocket $1m prize money https://businessday.ng/sports/article/wafcon-super-falcons-clinch-10th-title-pocket-1m-prize-money/

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Author's Bio

Lydia Olanike Oladapo is a Development Practitioner with a passion for women empowerment. She was among the 170 people nominated by the UN Women's Empower Women in December 2016 as 2016-2017 Champions for Change, representing a diverse group of dynamic and enthusiastic women and men championing economic empowerment for women across the globe. She is also the founder of the African Women in Business Capacity Development Program (AWINBCD) for Women in Business and Women Business Leaders. The program equips women with the know-how to facilitate the viability, sustainability, profitability, and global exportability of their products and services, leveraging the ISO 9001 Quality Management System Standard in their businesses. Lydia holds a Master's degree in Sustainable Development Practice from the University of Ibadan and is a Certified Manager of Quality and Organisational Excellence (CMQ/OE). She is a co-founder of the Africa Public Policy and Governance Network (APPGN).