Ben Shapiro recently reacted to comments made by Will Cain regarding equal pay in soccer that offered a strong perspective that favored male soccer athletes.
Ben Shapiro shared his reaction in a YouTube short, wherein he reacted to a 2019 ESPN video. In the video, Will Cain explains the payout disparity between the Men’s and Women’s World Cups organized by FIFA.
Cain’s argument hinged on the contrasting payouts, highlighting that female athletes received funds from a $30 million pool for their World Cup participation, while their male counterparts accessed a far larger $400 million pool.
To contextualize this discrepancy, Cain turned his attention to the revenue generated by each competition. In the video, Cain stated that the FIFA Men’s World Cup raked in a staggering $6 billion, while the Women’s World Cup’s earnings amounted to roughly $131 million.
Cain’s ultimate assertion was that female athletes received approximately 20% of the revenue generated by their event, whereas male athletes garnered around 7% of the revenue generated by theirs.
These statistics seemed to counter the notion that female athletes were not compensated fairly as compared to their male counterparts. Statistics however suggested that females were receiving approximately 13% more from the income generated by their respective events.
Shapiro, in response, watched the entire argument in the YouTube short and concluded with a sarcastic quip: “Stop using statistics, statistics are s*xist, stop that.”
The Australian Women's team have called out FIFA for offering a quarter of the prize money at the Women's World Cup as last year's men's tournament 👇 pic.twitter.com/lQFPILqRnI
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 17, 2023
Notably, the comments section of the video echoed Will Cain’s sentiments, with remarks like “Yall know they ain’t trying to hear that,” “We need to fight for men’s equal pay,” and “This isn’t even mansplaining, it’s just explaining” gaining prominence.
However, it’s imperative to recognize that the figures presented in the video are based on outdated data, as Will Cain’s original ESPN video dates back to 2019. To gain a more accurate and up-to-date understanding of the matter, one must observe current figures and statistics.
FIFA earned $570 Million from the 2023 Women’s World Cup
The most recent FIFA Women’s World Cup recently reached its conclusion. Before the final, FIFA President Gianni Infantino revealed that the 2023 edition proved highly lucrative, with earnings surpassing $570 million. The remarkable financial success allowed the governing body to achieve a break-even point from the event’s operations.
Furthermore, Infantino disclosed that despite the substantial increase in prize money for the competition, the 2023 Women’s World Cup secured the second-highest income of any global sporting event, trailing only behind the 2022 Men’s World Cup.
The Spanish women’s national team claimed their first World Cup in stellar fashion, winning six out of seven matches and edging England 1-0 in the final in Sydney.@statsandedits takes a look at the tactics behind Spain’s World Cup triumph:https://t.co/8pnPOFbpsb pic.twitter.com/iEnCsM3k27
— Breaking The Lines (@BTLvid) September 4, 2023
FIFA made significant strides in boosting the prize money for the Women’s tournament, elevating it to $152 million. This figure represents a tenfold increase when compared to the 2015 edition. In contrast, the 2022 Men’s World Cup boasted a prize pool of $440 million for participants and amassed an astonishing $7.5 billion in revenue.
Analyzing these updated figures, it becomes evident that Will Cain’s 2019 argument remains relevant. In the 2022 Men’s World Cup, male athletes garnered approximately 6% of the revenue generated from the prize money.
Whereas in the 2023 Women’s edition, female athletes claimed approximately 27% of the revenue generated by the event.