£65,000 a week is an outrageous wage for anyone to earn. That’s the figure that QPR’s unwanted right-back Jose “I don’t want to sit on the bench” Bosingwa gets paid, and his wages don’t even compare to the game’s top earners.
Rachael Yankey may not be a household name to football fans around the globe, but to amass 121 career caps for England is an incredible achievement, which is rivalled by very few of her male counterparts. Kelly Smith is widely regarded as one of the stars in women’s football, and is the national side’s record goalscorer with a total of 45 England goals. These two along with each of their England counterparts are on central contracts which pay a paltry £16,000 a year.
The offer has now been increased by the overly generous Football Association to a whopping £18,000, but under advice from the PFA the side have rejected the dismal proposal. Of course the top female players are nowhere near the standards of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney, but to be paid such a minimal wage for fantastic service to their country is derogatory and insulting to say the least.
To make matters worse, club wages are capped at £20,000 per year for all but four players a squad, so on that logic some of the top English players will be able to earn a maximum of £38,000 each year. A good wage you might argue, but when you consider that the top male players earn more that in a day, then the sexist gulf which exists in football is apparent. Indeed the majority of players hold another job as well, as they juggle work and footballing commitments.
Indeed, in the 2007 Women’s World Cup many players were forced to take unpaid leave from their jobs, and were handed only £40 per day by the FA. In comparison the men’s team were rumoured to be handed a six figure bonus for simply failing to qualify for Euro 2008. The wage gulf is simply ridiculous, and casts shame upon the sexist approach of the FA with regard to their comparative funding of men’s and women’s football in this country.
Poor Jose Bosingwa was fined £130,000 for his antics, but don’t worry – he only earns £3.38 million per year. I’m sure his bank account will be cringing at the fine. So whilst many of the women footballers are struggling to earn a living, the likes of Bosingwa drive around in their Ferraris with money dropping out of their pocket. So fair!