Brazil announces equal pay for national football teams

Brazil has become one of the few countries to adopt an equal pay policy for both women’s and men’s football, the country’s football association announced on Wednesday.

"The CBF has equaled the prize money and allowances between men's and women's football, which means the women players will earn the same as the men," said Rogerio Caboclo, president of Brazil’s football association CBF.

"There is no more gender difference, because CBF is treating men and women equally," he said.

The new measures, first communicated to the women’s team in March this year, will allow the country’s lesser-known female players to receive the same compensation and prize money as international sporting stars Neymar Jr., Thiago Silva, Roberto Firmino and others.

Read more: What’s the real reason behind gender inequality in football?

While the Brazilian men’s team is known for having won the World Cup a record five times, the lesser-known women's team is also one of the best in the game, with a World Cup final appearance in 2007. The team also reached the Olympic finals in 2004 and 2008.

The association said the new measures will allow national teams participating in the Tokyo Olympics next year, as well as the next World Cups, to be compensated equally.

This comes months after a judge in the United States dismissed the US women’s team’s lawsuit calling for equal pay. The current world champions have appealed the decision.

Brazil is the fourth country, after Norway, New Zealand and Australia, to pay its men's and women's national teams the same.