Megan Rapinoe Hits Out at 'Disrespectful' FIFA for Scheduling Other Games on World Cup Final Day
USA star Megan Rapinoe has criticised FIFA for scheduling two other major finals on the same day as the final of the Women's World Cup, insisting that the governing body do not respect the women's game as much as the men's.
On the same day as the USA will take on the Netherlands in the World Cup final, men's football will also see two finals of its own. Brazil will face Peru in the final of the Copa America, whilst the USA will take on Mexico in the Gold Cup final.
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Speaking to the press (via Sky News) ahead of the World Cup final, Rapinoe insisted that FIFA would not schedule other events if this were the men's World Cup.
She said: "It's terrible scheduling, don't you guys feel disrespected? It is a terrible idea to put all three on the same day in every way. There are two other finals going on but this is the World Cup final, 'cancel everything day'.
"I don't know how that happened and I heard somewhere they just didn't think about it, which is the problem. When the World Cup is set so far in advance it's unbelievable. We don't feel the same level of respect that FIFA has for the men or just in general."
She also took the opportunity to criticise the gap in prize money between the women's and men's World Cup. For the 2022 World Cup, the winning men's side will take home around £391.8m, whilst the successful women's team will win just £53.4m in 2023.
"It's certainly not fair. Double it now and use that number to double it or quadruple it for the next time. That is what I mean when we talk about whether we feel respected," Rapinoe added.
"Earlier in the year, I read FIFA doesn't care about the women's game. If you really care about the game in the same way, why are you letting the gap grow?
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"Are you scheduling three finals on the same day? No, you're not. Are you letting federations have their teams play two games in the four years between each tournament? No, you're not.
"That's what I mean about the level of care, you need attention and detail and the best minds that we have in the women's game, helping it grow every single day."
