Brazil announces equal pay for men's and women's national soccer teams

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Wednesday that its men’s and women’s national soccer teams will receive equal pay and prize money.

"There is no more gender difference, the CBF is treating men and women equally," CBF chief Rogerio Caboclo said in statement here.

The CBF said that it had also appointed two women’s soccer coordinators, Duda Luizelli and Aline Pellegrino.

Pay disparity between men’s and women’s professional soccer players has been in the spotlight since the United States women’s team sued the governing body U.S. Soccer last year alleging gender discrimination in earnings and working conditions.

The team’s claims were dismissed by a court in May and a bid to immediately appeal the decision was denied.

Australian soccer’s governing body said in November that it had reached agreement with the players’ union on a new collective bargaining agreement that “closes the pay gap” between the men’s and women’s teams.

New Zealand and Norway have also moved to address the pay gap between their male and female players.

The Brazil women’s team reached the World Cup final in 2007 and Olympic finals in 2004 and 2008.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru Editing by Shri Navaratnam)