Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Women’s Elite Sport: Prize Money

26 April 2022 · 1 other contributor · 3,524 words

Opened by Julie Elliott Lab Sunderland Central

Responding minister: Nigel Huddleston

Culture, Media & Sport

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Julie Elliott raised concerns about women’s elite sport: prize money in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Concerns raised about disparity in prize money between men's and women's elite sports
  • Julie Elliott highlighted female athletes' struggle to sustain their sport full-time due to lower prize money and lack of commercial revenue
  • Elliott asked the Minister for plans to work with governing bodies to achieve fairer prize money distribution in women's sport

Key requests to Government

Elliott asks the Minister what plans he has to work with governing bodies towards a fairer distribution of prize money in women's sport and how he will continue the growth seen in women's sport over the last decade.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Julie Elliott Lab Sunderland Central

Julie Elliott is concerned about the disparity in prize money awarded to women compared to men in elite sports, noting significant differences such as £335 million for the men's European championship versus £13.4 million for the women's European championship. She highlighted that some female athletes struggle to sustain their sport full-time due to lower prize money and lack of commercial revenue, despite recent progress.

Other contributors (1)
  • Peter Dowd Lab Bootle

    Does my hon. Friend agree that financial support for young women's teams sets the scene for later years, feeding into the issue of inequity, and that funding for young women's and girls' football teams is crucial to setting the cultural scene?

Government Response

Nigel Huddleston

I thank the hon. Member for Sunderland Central (Julie Elliott) for securing time for this important debate on women's elite sport prize money. I agree with her that it is vital to recognise and pay equally for achievements in men's and women's sports, highlighting progress such as the FA increasing prize money for the winners of the women's FA cup from next season and professional female footballers gaining maternity and long-term sickness cover. However, there remains a significant disparity; UEFA's 2021 Euro 2022 women's competition has a €16 million pot compared to €371 million for men's Euros. I am committed to improving visibility and commercial investment in women's sports through meetings of the women's sport working group with key sector partners. In May 2021, we added the FIFA women's World cup and UEFA women's European championships to the listed events regime, ensuring wider audience reach. We have seen positive steps like record sponsorship deals and innovative broadcasting partnerships but more action is needed for greater equality and inclusivity in sport.

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