On Sunday night, the England women’s football team won the Euro in the final at Wembley. This was England’s first international success since winning the World Cup in 1966.

Team captain Leah Williamson lifted the trophy along with her teammates. The 25-year-old midfielder plays for Arsenal and was reportedly paid £200,000 on a contract last season.

This amount is eight times the average salary in the UK. However, the difference is staggering compared to what a male football player in England earns.

Men’s team captain Harry Kane earns £200,000 a week. He is not the highest paid footballer in the English league, with star players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kevin de Bruyne earning around £400,000 a week.

According to the BBC, the average salary for a women’s football team in England is around £47,000, based on available data from seven of the 12 teams in the league. According to research by Deloitte, the average wage at mid-table West Ham is £4.3m. Leicester’s average salary is £6.4m.

At the same time, England players will receive about 55 thousand pounds each as a bonus for winning the tournament. The £1.3m they will share is far less than the £5m the men’s team would have received had they won the Euro last year.

In an attempt to explain the observed large discrepancy, the BBC cites the example of Manchester City, which also has a women’s team. The 2020-2021 Premier League Champions men’s team had a turnover of £571m.

According to Deloitte, the club spent 62% of its revenue on player salaries, estimated at £354m. In a roster of 30 players, this amount is equivalent to 11.8 million euros per player.

The Manchester City women’s team finished third in the league that ended a few weeks ago. The club’s turnover for the 2020-2021 season is £2.9m. From the team’s coffers comes £3.3 million in wages for the entire team and staff. This means that the average salary is 75 thousand pounds.

According to the BBC