FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has announced his ambition for equal prize money for the Men's and Women's World Cups by 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Currently, the $110 million prize money for the Women's World Cup is a significant increase from $30 million in 2019, but still far short of the $440 million on offer to teams at last year's Men's World Cup in Qatar.
Infantino called on broadcasters and sponsors to do more, emphasising disparity in offers for the Women's World Cup rights that are claimed to be 100 times lower than the Men's tournament.
In the past few years, there has been increasing advocacy for equal pay in sports.
Lewes, for example, has been campaigning for equal sharing of the total prize fund, and they welcomed the talk of equal prize money for both sexes.
However, Infantino's comments come as existing sponsors are offering too little for TV rights, increasing concerns for adequate funding.
Still, Infantino is determined to bridge the gap and fight for female players, adding that it is time for the prize money to be put on the agenda for debate.
As a part of the fund, FIFA is providing $40 million for team preparation and club release payments, boosting the fund significantly from previous years.
Infantino also expressed his intentions to dedicate some of the prize money to paying players, which has been an ongoing debate in the sports world.
Overall, the intent to provide equal prize money for both the Men's and Women's World Cups is a significant step in the right direction.
However, concrete measures and dedicated efforts are required to ensure that this ambitious goal becomes a reality.