Vivianne Miedema, Sherida Spitse and Sari van Veenendaal celebrated the equal pay of the Orange women with the men with cake. As members of the players’ council, the three had been fighting for the same basic premium as the men for years and managed to do that on Monday.
“This is a special day for women’s football,” Miedema says along the training field on Monday afternoon. “It’s really nice to have been part of this and to be here now, especially when you see where we come from.”
In recent years, Miedema has been one of the champions of equal treatment between men and women as a poster child for the Orange Women. She has already achieved a lot with Spitse and Van Veenendaal: the women are transported on charter flights just like the men, have the same clothing sponsors and stay in the same expensive hotels.
A new breakthrough followed on Monday: from 1 July the women will receive the same basic premium as the men during their stay with the Dutch national team and they will receive the same amount of money from commercial activities for the KNVB. It led to happy scenes at Miedema, Spitse and Van Veenendaal.
“This is one of the reasons why I joined the players’ council: I want quality on the field, but also off it,” said Miedema. “This morning we ate a cake with the players’ council. Tonight we will have an official meeting and the official signing moment. That is certainly something that you as a team think about.”
Vivianne Miedema explains the deal with the KNVB on behalf of the players’ council after Monday training.
Vivianne Miedema explains the deal with the KNVB on behalf of the players’ council after Monday training. Photo: Getty Images
‘Only focus on football for Eredivisie players’
According to Miedema, equal pay does not only have a symbolic meaning. She also sees it as a major financial boost for women’s football, especially for the players in the Eredivisie, who do not receive as high a salary as herself. The Arsenal striker is the highest-earning female player in England following her recent contract extension.
“We have no complaints in England, but for others it is difficult to focus only on football,” said Miedema. “Now you only have to focus on football with the Dutch national team and you can continue. This will help us a lot.”
Although the KNVB does not make any statements about the amount, according to Miedema it concerns “a lot of money”. “And we can be very proud of that. We have worked very hard for this. It is not millions and tons, we know that. But it is something we can be very happy with.”
Miedema has made that clear to the young players in particular. “From: you know, this is not normal, this is fucking Fat. Other countries do not do this, we are at the forefront of this. That realization is immediate. It’s nice to see what this does to the group. For a youngster and for someone who has been there for sixteen years, like Sherida, this is very special.”
Vivianne Miedema has been involved in negotiations with the KNVB for many years.
Vivianne Miedema has been involved in negotiations with the KNVB for many years. Photo: Getty Images
‘American model not realistic’
During the negotiations with the KNVB, the American model was also discussed: in the United States, the female internationals also receive a tournament premium that is just as high as the men. In Monday’s deal, the KNVB only equalized the basic premium and the income from commercial activities.
KNVB director Jan Dirk van der Zee, who is responsible for women’s football within the association, showed the immense difference between the prize money in men’s and women’s tournaments during the talks with the players. It was reason enough for the players to refrain from doing so.
Miedema: “And in America women’s football is bigger than men’s football: as a team they have much more income than the men. That is a completely different situation than the one we are in. Of course you hope to get to that point one day, but that is not realistic at the moment.”