International Football
OSHOALA CONTRIBUTES AS BARCELONA BENEFIT THE MOST FROM 2019 WOMEN WORLD CUP CLUB PAYOUTS
BY NANCY GILLEN
Asisat Oshoala’s FC Barcelona is set to receive the highest amount of FIFA Women’s World Cup club payout money with 15 of the side’s players having competed in the tournament’s group stage.
Asisat Oshoala is a key member of the Nigerian team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
A study by information platform Wettbasis found that FIFA will pay out a total of £2.56 million ($3.25 million/€2.88 million) to the 198 clubs worldwide which had players competing in the group stages in France.
This amounts to £362 ($460/€407) per day per player, with the player’s current club receiving 50 per cent of the sum.
The remaining percentage is given to clubs that trained the player up to the age of 22.
FC Barcelona is paid the most of all clubs, receiving £68,700 ($87,200/€77,300) from FIFA for its players, including England forward Toni Duggan, Dutch winger Lieke Martens and 10 from the Spanish squad.
French team and UEFA Women’s Champions League victors Olympique Lyon are in second place with £65,000 ($82,600/€73,100).
English clubs dominate the top 10, with Manchester City receiving £58,000 ($73,700/€65,300) and Chelsea £57,600 ($73,200/€64,800).
Football Association Women’s Super League champions Arsenal will earn £43,800 ($55,600/€49,300).
The United States receive the largest portion of funds for one country, however, receiving £350,000 ($444,700/€393,800) in total for 26 clubs.
Despite the growing financial investment in women’s football, the published figures are dwarfed by those produced during the men’s FIFA World Cup in Russia last year.
FIFA paid around £6,781 ($8,615/€7,629) per player per day, around 18 times the amount paid to female players this year.
Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Chelsea all received over £2.5million ($3.2million/€2.8million) each for taking part in the men’s World Cup 2018, close to the amount paid by FIFA to all the women’s clubs combined during the group stage.
The Women’s World Cup is due to enter the knockout round tomorrow after the group stage concluded today.
FIFA announced last October that $30 million (£23 million/€26 million) in prize money would be on offer this year, a 100 per cent increase on the $15 million (£11 million/€13 million) available in 2015.
The allocation of a further $20 million (£16 million/€18 million) to pay for travel, training and to compensate players’ club teams was also approved by the Council then.
This was criticised by organisations such as FIFPro, however, who said that the rise was insufficient and claimed “the changes actually signify an increase in the gap between men’s and women’s prize money”.
-insidethegames
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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