**The Time for Equal Prize Money in Women’s FA Cup: A Call for Equity**
This weekend marks an important occasion in women’s football as it is the second round of the Women’s FA Cup, a tournament that has become a cornerstone of the sport. Fans and players alike are hoping to reach the ultimate dream of playing at Wembley. However, there’s a pressing issue that continues to shadow the excitement of the tournament: the disparity in prize money between the men’s and women’s competitions. For too long, this gap has remained a glaring injustice, with women’s teams receiving significantly less financial reward for their performances.
Lewes Football Club, where I serve as a director, stands at the forefront of this movement for equality. Since 2017, we have made a pioneering commitment to resource both our women’s and men’s teams equally, making us the first club in the UK to do so. This initiative has allowed our women’s team to sometimes receive support that reflects their higher league status, transitioning us from the notion of equality to one of equity. Inspired by this model, we have been campaigning for equal prize money in the FA Cup since 2019—not merely as a slogan, but as a strategic demand for fairness.
The FA Cup is heralded as “the game’s great leveller,” yet the financial disparities shout otherwise. To illustrate, a win for a men’s team in the second round equates to a reward of £79,500, in stark contrast to a mere £8,000 for the women’s teams—a staggering difference of £71,500. This inconsistency runs throughout the tournament, with women’s teams receiving logically lesser amounts in earlier and later rounds as well. It raises questions about the value placed upon women’s football and its athletes. The governing body, the FA, establishes the prize funds for both competitions and could rectify this disparity at a moment’s notice.
While excuses such as “commercial realities” and “revenue differences” are often cited, they fail to provide a valid rationale for the financial inequity faced by women’s football. Encouragingly, the FA has recently shown a willingness to engage, moving away from its previous disregard for our requests for equal treatment. Since 2020, it has implemented a policy for equal match fees and bonuses for both the women’s and men’s national teams. This demonstrates that the FA can enact change, as it has already committed to equal opportunities in their “Reaching Higher: Women’s & Girls’ Game Strategy 2024-28.”
The pressing question is why this commitment to equality does not extend to the FA Cup. Total prize funds in the men’s tournament for this season stand at a remarkable £23.5 million, while the women’s competition lags considerably at £6.14 million. The prevailing structure means a disproportionate distribution of wealth, where funds often benefit the wealthiest Premier League clubs. This is not only unfair; it undermines the essence of competition that the FA Cup is supposed to represent. Small clubs, which form the backbone of the football pyramid, require more support to ensure their survival and growth.
In addition to our demands for equitable prize money across both competitions, we also advocate for a fairer distribution within the men’s tournament itself, so that more clubs, rather than just a select few, can benefit from the prize money. The winnings for each match should allow teams to cover costs associated with playing in the tournament, preventing the loss of financial resources through travel and other expenses.
To further amplify our campaign, we invite clubs participating in the women’s competition to partake in a poignant action—a 21-second pause after kick-off, paying homage to the year 1921 when the FA banned women’s football for fifty years. This ban severely stunted the growth of women’s football during that period, halting investment and development that should have occurred.
In conclusion, equal prize money must be viewed as a reward for performance, not as an act of charity. The principles that make football a celebrated sport should ideally apply uniformly across all levels of competition, regardless of gender. As the Women’s FA Cup continues to draw attention and encouragement, the time has come for a financial shift that aligns with the spirit of equity and fairness, reminding us all of the essence and potential of the beautiful game.
