Players of Denmark’s men’s soccer team have refused a pay rise in what has been described as an “extraordinary measure” to ensure they have equal working conditions to their female counterparts.
The new agreement between the men’s team and the Danish Football Association will come into force after the European Championship in Germany, and expire in 2028. The men’s and women’s internationals will receive the same amount of money to represent their national team .
As part of this new agreement, male players agreed to a 15% reduction in their insurance coverage to allow for a 50% improvement in that of female players. The men also refused a pay increase.
“This is an extraordinary measure to help improve conditions for women’s national teams,” Michael Sahl Hansen, head of the Danish players’ union, Spillerforeningen, said in a statement released by global players’ union FIFPRO on Friday.
“So, instead of looking for better conditions for themselves, the players thought of supporting the women’s team. »
Sahl Hansen said the players who took part in the negotiations, including Christian Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Simon Kjaer and Kasper Schmeichel, were “very happy” with the deal.
“That’s what they wanted. This shows that they take responsibility. They liked the idea of offering other national teams better opportunities and better conditions. »
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