Equality – FIFA’s Gender Pay Gap in Football World Cups and Three Judicial Approaches to Equal Prize Money

FIFA pays disparate amounts of prize money in football World Cups to women and men. This practice stands in sharp contrast to FIFAs own assertions about gender equality, and could further violate international and European law. This paper examines three different possibilities to achieve equal prize money for female and male players by way of analysing the positions of the European Court of Justice, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the European Court of Human Rights. While all judicial bodies are established in Europe, they are basing their awards and judgements on different laws, statutes and international treaties. The paper shows up the differences and similarities resulting from the particular applicable laws, various potential parties to the conflict and diverse positions within the tension of sport, law and power.

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