FAI AGREES EQUAL PAY FOR REPUBLIC OF IRELAND WOMEN AND MEN NATIONAL TEAMS

03 September 2021

The Football Association of Ireland announced that players representing the Republic of Ireland Senior Men and Senior Women’s international teams will receive the same match fees on international duty with immediate effect in a ground-breaking deal for Irish sport.

The historic three-way agreement between the Men’s and Women’s squads and the FAI was brokered by FAI CEO Jonathan Hill and Ciaran Medlar, advisor to the male and female international players, alongside captains Katie McCabe and Seamus Coleman.

Ongoing talks between all parties reached a successful conclusion ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualification games involving Stephen Kenny’s Senior Men’s side and Vera Pauw’s Senior Women’s team.

The men’s squad have agreed to reduce their international fees, with the FAI matching their contribution to ensure that the Senior Women’s team match fee is increased and all male and female players receive the same match fee from the September international window onwards. The FAI has also agreed equality of approach with the Senior Men’s and Senior Women’s squad with regard to any future Tournament qualification.

“This is a great day for Irish football. We have taken a huge step forward with this deal and have shown the world what can be achieved through unity as we offer male and female international players the same opportunities. I am very proud as Ireland captain of the work that has been put in to get us to this point, not just by the current team but by so many Irish players in the past. They are the real heroes in this story, they took a stand and they passed on the baton to the current generation.” Katie McCabe, Ireland Senior Women’s Team captain

“We are delighted as players to do what we can to ensure that our female international players are treated equally and fairly and we remain fully committed to doing whatever we can to achieve that goal together. This deal is the right one for everyone who plays international football for Ireland, no matter which team they represent. We have been working towards this agreement for some time now with Katie, Jonathan and Ciaran and I hope this acts as an inspiration to many other nations to follow suit.” Seamus Coleman, Senior Ireland Men’s team captain

EQUAL PAY AGREED 🇮🇪

A historic day for Irish football as the FAI agrees equal pay deal with WNT & MNT squads ahead of their World Cup qualifiers 🤝

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— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) August 30, 2021

“Speaking on behalf of the Board of the FAI and myself, we are delighted to announce this historic agreement today. As we celebrate our Centenary and begin to build out the strategic plan for a new FAI, the Board agreed unanimously that this is absolutely the right thing for us to do as an Association. This is another important milestone in the FAI’s own transformation journey and I believe this equal pay programme shows us to be the progressive footballing nation we have always aspired to be. For some months now, I have been working with Katie, Seamus and Ciaran on this agreement. Katie and her team-mates are role models to all the young girls playing football in Ireland whilst the actions of Seamus and his fellow players in our Senior Men’s squad to make this equal pay proposition possible should not be underestimated.” Jonathan Hill, FAI Chief Executive Officer

So far England, Brazil, Australia, Norway and New Zealand are the football associations that communicated to pay their female and male footballers equally for representing their nation.