Fifa was much lauded last month for its commitment to divide the Women's World Cup prize money by player rather than federation, so that each player would receive at least €28,000, with prizes increasing as teams progressed through the tournament, with each player on the winning team receiving at least €250,000, in addition to payments directly to federations.
However, amidst all the excitement of the tournament opening, Fifa president Gianni Infantino announced that Fifa can't guarantee the money will go to players. Rather, Fifa will distribute money to its member federations, who are expected to pass it on to players — but given the numerous pay disputes between players and federations, as in Nigeria, where players have repeatedly accused their federation of failing to pay them what they're due, this is a much less secure option.
It was the players' union FIFPRO that pushed Fifa toward dedicating some money directly to players when they sent a letter to Fifa last year signed by the players of 25 member nations.
Infantino said factors like residency and taxation mean that the payments are best handled by federations.
"We are moving of course in the right direction, we have been consulting with associations, with players, to try and go in the right path. We have issued these recommendations, but we have an association of associations. So whatever payments we do, we will go through the associations and then the associations will, of course, make the relevant payments to their own players. We are in touch with all the associations."
The total prize money for this year's Women's World Cup is €100 million, which is more than three times as much as the €27 million pool for the 2019 edition in France, but still dwarfed by the nearly €401 million up for grabs at the Men's World Cup.
The €28,000 could be life-changing for many players. The average annual salary for professional female footballers worldwide is €12,700.
