Matildas and Japan step up pressure on AFC over Women’s Asian Cup prize money

Australia and Japan’s women’s national teams have jointly criticised the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) over prize money distribution at the Women’s Asian Cup, saying their requests for reforms were not acted on ahead of the tournament.Japan beat hosts Australia 1-0 in the final at Stadium Australia in Sydney, in front of a competition record crowd, capping a tournament the teams said showed clear commercial and audience momentum.The players said: “Despite the success of this tournament, it remains the lowest-paying continental tournament in the world and inequality between the men’s and women’s game remains.”They added that an approach sent to the AFC before the tournament asking to collaborate on equal prize money, a guaranteed share for players and a co-developed legacy plan “has so far been ignored”.The dispute centres on the size and structure of the women’s prize pool compared with the men’s competition, and the absence of broad-based tournament payments for women’s teams.Player representatives argue that greater distribution would have an outsized impact across the region, where many federations have limited budgets and rely heavily on confederation funding to support women’s programmes.The public stance from two of Asia’s most established women’s teams raises the stakes for the AFC as it seeks to grow the women’s game commercially, including via new club competitions and expanded calendar activity.It also adds pressure at a time when FIFA has promoted closing the financial gap between men’s and women’s tournaments, with players increasingly linking confederation prize money to wider promises on equality and reinvestment.No timetable for discussions has been announced, and it remains unclear whether the AFC will revisit the prize pool and participation payments ahead of the next cycle of women’s competitions.