Women's soccer wages fail to match success on field

Chinese female soccer players may be achieving success on the soccer field, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2015 Women's World Cup, but that achievement is not matched by the money they are paid.

According to Chinese media reports, female players competing in the top-tier Chinese league earn an average monthly wage of 3,000 yuan ($483), while their male counterparts earn at least 150,000 yuan.

Ma Xiaoxu, 27, former striker for the national team, shrugs off the huge disparity in earnings, citing female soccer's lack of appeal to media and sponsors.

"Playing the same game and winning more glories than they (the men's players) did, I used to feel aggrieved and not as respected because I earned much less than my male counterparts playing in the Chinese Super League," Ma told China Daily at a youth soccer development forum at Beijing Normal University on Friday.

As the Asian Football Confederation Women's Player of the Year in 2006, Ma led China to a tournament ranking of fifth at the Women's World Cup in 2007. She now plays for Dalian in the eight-club Women's Super League.

Contrary to the media reports, Ma said someone playing for the national team can earn about 200,000 yuan annually, while an average player in the league could make at least half that amount with a basic club wage and win bonuses from sponsors.

"Things have improved a lot compared to in the past," she said.

Former national head coach Ma Yuan'an, who coached the female "Steel Roses" squad in the 1990s, urges current players to live with the difference and have a positive mindset.

"Women are underpaid compared with men in soccer worldwide," he said.

"The situation has much improved compared to my time when national team members only received a 15 yuan daily allowance while preparing for the 1999 World Cup."

To reward the success of the China women's team in Canada, the Chinese Football Association has prepared the largest-ever pool for prize money in women's soccer history. If the team continues to advance, additional bonuses will be provided through sponsorship funds, said Yu Hongchen, vice-president of the CFA.

Inspired by the team's excellent World Cup performance, Zong Qinghou, chairman of China's leading drinks maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group, announced a bonus of 1 million yuan ($160,000) for the team for reaching Friday's quarterfinals and promised a further bonus if they defeat the US to reach the semifinals.

"The quarterfinal against the US team will be an extremely hard one. I want to encourage the China players, because I saw the spirit of Chinese women's soccer has been carried on by this generation," Zong said.

He emphasized that the money will be delivered directly to every player.

Contact the writers through sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/27/2015 page4)