In a big win for women’s football this week, it was revealed the total prize money for the Women’s FA Cup is set to receive a huge increase. This is something that has long been called for by players, teams and fans. Some sides have struggled to even participate in the competition because the costs of competing far outweigh the financial rewards on offer. Indeed, Clapton Community FC were forced to launch a crowdfunding campaign to cover their away trips on course to the third round this season. The new fund will be around £3 million –– a tenfold increase on the current amount of prize money allocated to the women’s competition. The FA say a ‘disproportionate amount’ of this sum will be invested into the early rounds, to help lower league teams, such as Clapton, ‘feel the benefit’ of this monetary increase. But while it’s pleasing to see the FA have finally taken action, this is no reason for them to suddenly be immune from criticism or for them to be exempt from taking further steps to level the playing field. Because though this is a step in the right direction, it is merely a step, and one that has been a long time coming. It should, therefore, not be used as a foil to disregard the other issues that are still prevalent within the sport. The fact of the matter is that women’s football remains a long way off equality and an increase in prize money for a single competition is not going to suddenly excuse that reality. 

What is the prize money increase? 

As reported by the Guardian, the FA have now, at long last, taken steps to address the prize money imbalance within the Women’s FA Cup. 

Last season, Chelsea’s win against Arsenal at Wembley saw them profit just £25,000 for winning the competition. In the same men’s equivalent competition, at the same venue, in the same year, Leicester received £1.8 million in prize money. 

Further down the pyramid, the situation was even more drastic. The first-round prize money for the women’s tournament this season was just £850, which for many teams, didn’t even cover the cost of travel. 

This has not been a new concern for women’s teams either. The Women’s Football Fan Collective campaign group, which aims to “promote and protect” the women’s game, launched the #EqualFACup hashtag on social media. 

It seems, therefore, that steps were only taken by the FA because of pressure and criticism directed at them, and not, as one would’ve hoped, because they value women’s football in the same way as the men’s game. 

And though these latest measures may be “satisfactory” as the Women’s Football Fan Collective admitted, they also stressed this was “some way from the equal prize money” for which they are campaigning. 

In this way, the likes of Lewes FC, who remain the only team to pay their men and women’s teams equally, have urged the FA to go even further than they have done. 

The club has spent the last year talking and listening to fans and clubs around the country on the current distribution of prize money and have devised their own detailed proposals. 

The first includes paying men and women based on ‘prize per fixture’, while the second suggests the total prize fund across both competitions should be split equally between men’s football and women’s football. 

According to Lewes chief executive Maggie Murphy: “The whole competition needs to be better weighted to ensure that more people benefit. Grassroots and community football clubs are the lifeblood of the game but are under huge strain.” 

The bigger issues

Though the Women’s FA Cup is in dire need of a better-weighted redistribution of funds, it is ultimately just one small matter in the overall journey for equality in women’s football. 

Only last week, Tom Garry from the Telegraph revealed that some Women’s Super League clubs are paying players less than the National Living Wage. 

The investigation, which involved consultation with agents, players and coaches from the 12 WSL clubs, found that some individuals are making 50 times less than their male counterparts. 

Outside of the UK, the US Women’s National Team’s historic equal pay settlement, which finally came to a conclusion a matter of weeks ago, is a sign of the extreme measures that women are being forced to take to fight discrimination. 

The USWNT had been fighting the controversial case since 2019 and finally settled on a deal which will see players split $22 million –– around one-third of what they had sought in damages. 

Aside from just financial issues, horrific stories have also emerged of late, detailing the sexual abuse some female players have suffered at the hands of men working in football. 

One of the latest incidents concerned former Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley, who was alleged to have sexually coerced and verbally abused players on his team. 

Despite a number of similar cases, so far, football has failed to acknowledge that there is an existing problem with sexual violence and misconduct in football. 

Unless there is accountability for such issues that are endemic in the women’s game right now, the sport as a whole will not be able to move forwards. 

What more can be done? 

It’s important that campaign groups and influential people continue to persist in fighting for equality, continue holding those at the top to account, and continue to call out wrongdoing where appropriate. 

The USWNT proved that though the journey may be a long one,  it is possible to forcibly bring about meaningful change. 

Chelsea Women lifting FA Cup
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 05: Magdalena Eriksson and Millie Bright of Chelsea lift The Vitality Women's FA Cup trophy following their side's victory during the Vitality Women's FA Cup Final between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Wembley Stadium on December 05, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Similarly, the FA’s decision to increase prize money was the culmination of multiple complaints against the former structure, which resulted in the organisation feeling compelled to take action. 

Ultimately, within women’s football, there is still sexism, still a wage gap and still cases of abuse coming to light. There are steps being made in the right direction, but the road ahead remains a long one.