Wales agree equal pay between men's and women's national football teams

• Welsh FA announce equal pay
• Agreement lasts until 2026 & 2027 tournaments
• Follows suit of USWNT, Netherlands, Spain

WHAT HAPPENED? A joint statement from both national teams has revealed its immediate introduction, which will be in place up to and including the 2026 Men's World Cup and 2027 Women's World Cup. The move joins the likes of the USWNT, Netherlands and Spain in complete equal pay deals established over the last year, while England have been paying male and female players the same appearance fees and bonuses solely for senior international games outside of major tournaments since 2020.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Wales women's team made history last year after qualifying for the World Cup play-offs for the very first time, before heartbreak in extra-time to Switzerland scuppered their chances of progression to the tournament. The men's team, meanwhile, did make it to Qatar in their first World Cup since 1958, before being eliminated from Group B.

WHAT THEY SAID?: “Together Stronger has been the mantra across the Cymru National Teams for us all, both on and off the pitch as we look to put Wales on the world stage," the joint statement read. "As part of the FAW’s strive towards equality, we are now proud to announce that together, our Men’s and Women’s teams have agreed to an equal pay structure for future international matches. We hope that this will allow future generations of boys and girls to see that there is equality across Welsh International football, which is important for society as a whole. With this agreement in place, we will now look ahead to the UEFA Euro 2024 and 2025 qualifying campaigns, as we aim to see further success across both our senior teams in the near future.”

IN TWO PHOTOS:

Getty Images

Getty Images

WHAT NEXT? Following the announcement, the Wales women's national team are in action in the Pinatar Cup against the Philippines on February 15, while the men's side kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign against World Cup semi-finalists Croatia on March 25.