Women players across the continent are increasingly raising their voices against inequality. In the build-up to the 2023 World Cup, Nigeria and South Africa protested against the lack of contracts, poor pay and sub-par pitches. Zambia and Sierra Leone are the only African countries who pay their national players equally.
Fifa increased the women’s prize money pool to $150-million in 2023. The men’s purse in Qatar in 2022 was $440-million. Fifa says it’s aiming for parity by the next men’s and women’s tournaments.
When the Senegalese men’s team won Afcon 2021, they received $2.5-million. Wafcon 2022 winners, South Africa, made just 16% of that ($400,000).
The prize money for Wafcon has been increased to $2.4-million in 2024, with the winners earning $500,000.
Caf introduced a purse for the Women’s Champions League of $1.55-million in 2022. The prize money for the men’s tournament was $17.6-million in 2021.