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Spain made history by winning their first-ever Women's World Cup title, beating England 1-0 in the final on Sunday. The Spanish team, led by captain and star striker Jennifer Hermoso, celebrated their triumph in front of a record crowd of 83,000 at Sydney's Stadium Australia. The prize money for this grand event has been a well-talked subject, let’s look at how much the winning teams and players earned.
According to FIFA, the total prize money for the 2023 Women's World Cup was $110 million, a 300% increase from the previous edition in 2019. The winning team's national association, Spain, received $4.29 million, while the runners-up, England, got $3.015 million. The third-place team, Sweden, earned $2.61 million, and the fourth-place team, Australia, got $2.455 million. The rest of the prize money was distributed among the other participating teams based on their performance and stage of elimination. The prize money distributed was based on the stage the team got to.
Here is a breakdown of which team got how much:
- Group stage: $1.56m
- Last 16: $1.87m
- Quarter-finals: $2.18m
- Fourth place: $2.455m
- Third place: $2.61m
- Runners-up: $3.015m
- Winners: $4.29m
In addition to the prize money for the national associations, FIFA also allocated performance-based fees for the players for the first time in the Women's World Cup. The members of the winning squad are to be paid $270,000 each, while the runners-up are to receive $195,000 per player.
It remains unclear whether Spain's and England’s players are also in line to be paid separate bonuses directly by their national associations. The RFEF declined to comment when questioned by the news source The Athletic while the Lionesses and FA are currently engaged in a standoff over the matter.
Regardless of the financial rewards, Spain's Women's World Cup win is a historic and monumental achievement for the team and the country. Spain's Women's World Cup win is not only a victory for themselves but also for women's football in general. The 2023 Women's World Cup was hailed as "the most successful women's sporting event in history" by FIFA, with record-breaking attendance, viewership, and media coverage.
