International Female Footballers have petitioned FIFA for Equal Prize Money at the World Cup

According to the world professional footballers' organisation, 150 members of the women's national team signed a letter to Fifa requesting equal World Cup prize money.

A month before the start of the men's World Cup in Qatar, FIFPro revealed that the letter, which also demands equal treatment and circumstances for women's teams competing in soccer's most famous tournament, was sent to the sport's international governing body in October.

The Women's World Cup will take place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20. "We can confirm that FIFA received a letter in October that was signed by 150 players representing national teams from every continent. Before the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023, these athletes want fair treatment. On behalf of these players, FIFPRO is currently negotiating with FIFA, the organisation said in a statement to The Associated Press. The letter's existence was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

FIFPro declined to provide a copy of the letter and stated that it was unable to speak further while discussions were still going on. The names of the players who signed the letter also were not made accessible.

Upon being contacted for comment on Wednesday, Fifa did not answer right away. The action coincides with growing calls for FIFA to increase parity between the prize money for the two competitions.

Out of a $440 million prize fund, Argentina took home $42 million for winning the men's World Cup in Qatar. The U.S. women's national team, in comparison, took home $4 million of the $30 million in prizes awarded for the 2019 Women's World Cup in France. This summer's women's competition does not yet have a prize fund in place.

The United States men's and women's national teams will split the World Cup prize money evenly after U.S. Soccer deducts a portion under their landmark collective bargaining agreements established last year.

The United States Soccer Federation is currently the only federation that distributes World Cup prize money evenly. In ongoing negotiations for a new labour agreement with Canada Soccer, the Canadian women's national team has requested a similar provision.

The Women's World Cup, which begins on July 20, will feature 32 teams, up from 24 in France. The 2019 tournament had a global broadcast audience of over 1 billion people.