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Another step forward has been made for women’s sport as the Matildas score a huge pay increase, making the team some of the highest paid female athletes in the country.
The salary rise has emerged from the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a deal made between players and Football Australia which has negotiated new pay for both the Socceroos and the Matildas.
This is the first CBA of its kind since 2019, having come together with the help of more than 40 members of the national teams.
Under the 2019 agreement, the top Matildas players would earn around $83,000 a year. While the number rose to around $110,000 ,the figure wouldn’t change depending on how many games they played.
However, under the new agreement, the Matildas will now be paid the same way as the Socceroos, where players are given a bigger share of the revenue from each match they play.
This means that around 70 percent of each player’s pay will be made up of match fees, while the other 30 per cent will come from a set annual commercial wage.
The new deal could see some of the top players earning between $125,000 to $200,000 a year.
With both teams now paid under the same model, the new deal is clearly a huge step forward for pay equality in women’s sport.
Alongside a pay increase, the Matildas will also receive more quality of life benefits, pregnancy benefits and allowances for children up to age four at camps when travelling to matches.
We can only hope that this will soon be the standard for all female sports teams across Australia.
