YES WAY JOSÉE
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: Bélanger’s first goal for Canada in 23 games
There’s not much money in women’s soccer around the world.
But for the Canadian women having advanced to the elite eight, they are now at least about to get into some semi-serious prize money.
Not much was made of it at the time.
But when Canada won the bid to play host to the event with 24 teams instead of 16, FIFA doubled the prize money for this Women’s World Cup from $7.5 million to $15 million U.S.
The teams that finished from 17th to 24th in the tournament each received a parting gift of $375,000.
The teams heading home after the Round of 16 each received $500,000. The next four nations out of the tournament will exit with $750,000.
Teams in the final four will receive the major shares of the loot. A total of $2 million will go to the winner instead of $1 million. A cheque of $1.3 million will be cut for the runner-up, with $1 million for third place and $800,000 for fourth.
The money is paid to the association and each association is left to work out an agreement with the players.
“We have a positive relationship with our players reaching that agreement financially,” Canadian Soccer Association general secretary Peter Montopoli said.
“It’s a significant percentage.”
In other words, most of it, if not all of it. But it’s all peanuts compared to what is involved in the men’s World Cup.
The total prize money was $576 million US.
For starters, all 32 teams in Brazil 2014 received $1.5 million each.
Half of them, the teams eliminated in the group stage, received $8 million more.
Round of 16 losers went home with $9 million and the four quarter-final losers with $14 million.
First through fourth place positions paid $35 million, $25 million, $20 million and $18 million.
There also was a $100-million insurance policy for player contracts and $70-million fees to club teams providing players.
Kinda makes the women’s $15 million look minuscule.
Norway or England?
There was a built-in schedule advantage for Canada after winning the Round of 16 game against Switzerland on Sunday.
John Herdman’s team will have an extra day of rest and no travel miles and no jet lag prior to meeting the winner of the game Monday between Norway and England.
The quarter-final game is scheduled to be played here Saturday.
The winner of Norway-England will have a 51/2-hour charter flight from Ottawa to Vancouver for the game.
Norway and England have previously played each other 16 times. The Grasshoppers won 11 to England’s three, with two draws.
But the Three Lionesses are unbeaten in the last four meetings with Norway, winning three and getting a tie in the other.
The two nations have met only once in Women’s World Cup action before. That was when Even Pellerud coached Norway to a 2-0 victory in 1995. Pellerud coached Canada to a fourth-place finish in the USA 2003 Women’s World Cup, the only time until now Canada has managed to get out of group play and advance to a quarterfinal.
England never has won a knockout-round game in a previous Women’s World Cup. Canada defeated England 1-0 in the final pre-tournament game in Hamilton.