FIFPRO releases report on disparities in Women’s World Cup qualifying

By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer

The path to the Women’s World Cup has been vastly uneven for the teams headed to Australia and New Zealand next month. A report released by global players’ union FIFPRO has outlined the disparity in standards and conditions for qualifying for the teams that vied for the 32 spots in the tournament. The Women’s World Cup starts on July 20. The report says 29% of the players have not been paid for taking part in qualifying tournaments. FIFPRO general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann says “we are prepared to work with FIFA and confederations to improve conditions for World Cup qualification and address the current inequities and fragmentation.”