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The top Matildas and Socceroos players will be able to earn up to $200,000 per year outside the World Cup cycle, plus a share of takings from the game’s showpiece events, under a new collective bargaining agreement.
Football Australia (FA) and the Professional Footballer’s Association (PFA) announced a new four-year agreement on Wednesday which will provide players with a share of the revenue they help generate.
Sam Kerr in action for the Matildas.Credit: Getty
Players will now earn between $120,000 and $200,000 per year before prizemoney is factored in, a sizable increase from the base wage of the $110,000 tier-one contracted Matildas earned under the previous deal.
The salaries will comprise a split of 70 per cent of match payments and 30 per cent in an annual commercial payment.
The CBA will cover salaries from the AFC Asian Cups for 2023 and 2027, the Paris Olympics, 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Women’s Cup, the 2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 and 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027.
FIFA has indicated the prize money for both the men’s and women’s World Cups will increase for 2026 and 2027 respectively, which will result in players taking home an increased windfall under the new CBA. FIFA has made verbal commitments to equalise women’s World Cup prize money by 2027.
The Socceroos received $15 million in prize money for making the round of 16 in last year’s World Cup. Under the 50-50 model represented in the new deal, each member of the 26-man squad would have taken home just under $300,000 on average from last year’s World Cup.
Other key points of the CBA include:
- Matildas’ player payments to transition immediately from centralised contracts to match and commercial payments;
- Preservation of the gender-equality model to ensure players continue to receive equal pay, employment and high-performance standards;
- Enhanced parental policy provisions;
- A commitment to develop a Football Australia human rights policy
- Past players to receive welfare and development assistance for the first time.
“Football Australia has enjoyed remarkable growth in the last few years and this agreement is positioned to drive our progress even further forward,” said Football Australia’s CEO, James Johnson.
“By incentivising our players to promote further growth we will be able to create new opportunities for generating revenue and unlocking value which was not previously available to us under the old structure. Through this new structure, we have been able to build in the possibility for innovative opportunities to respond to a dynamic and ever-changing landscape.
“I am proud to say that this CBA is a landmark not just for Football Australia, but for sports organisations worldwide. It sets a new standard for how players and national associations can work together to achieve common objectives.”
PFA co-Chief Executive and former Matildas’ captain Kathryn Gill added: “In partnership with Football Australia, we have a framework to ensure we capitalise on the growth and popularity of our players and national teams across the next four years and further incentivise performance on the global stage.”
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