For winning the World Cup title, the German national players would receive more money than in 2018 – and still much more than the German soccer players.
Winning the World Cup title at the tournament in Qatar (November 20 to December 18, 2022) would give every German national player a bonus of 400,000 euros. The German Football Association and the national team have agreed on this, as the DFB announced. This would give the players 50,000 euros more than in 2018 in Russia, where there would have been 350,000 euros for winning the World Cup.
The debate about “equal pay”, i.e. equal pay for the women’s and men’s national teams, will thus have a new basis. For comparison: The DFB women each received 30,000 euros for their second place at the European Championships last summer. There would have been 60,000 euros for the title.
If they had triumphed at the European Championships last year, the men’s team led by the national coach at the time, Joachim Löw, could have collected €400,000 per player.
“We held the intensive discussion in a good and constructive atmosphere. Ultimately, we reached an acceptable solution for everyone involved,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf.
In addition to Neuendorf, Vice President Hans-Joachim Watzke and Holger Blask as Managing Directors also took part for the DFB. The team was represented by Captain Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Joshua Kimmich and Ilkay Gündogan.
50,000 euros for group victory
There would be 50,000 euros for each player for winning the group in the preliminary round, 100,000 euros for reaching the quarter-finals and 150,000 euros for the semi-finals. The third place would be awarded with 200,000 euros, the vice world championship with 250,000 euros. First place in the preliminary round group E alone would bring Neuer and Co. more money than what the German women had received with second place at the European Championships in England.
After a visit by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) at the beginning of August, Neuendorf announced a debate in the DFB about adjusting the bonuses. “I am at least willing to talk to the representatives of the senior national teams in our committees about whether our bonus system, which has grown over decades, is still up to date (…) and whether it can also be adjusted if necessary.”Neuendorf said at the time after the chancellor had pushed for “equal pay”.