The Edo State government has announced it will pay its women’s team Edo Queens the same as its men’s side, Bendel Insurance.
The state own both teams with the men’s side playing in the Nigerian second tier and the women’s in the Women’s Premier League.
“We believe that there should be no discrimination between the male and female teams,” deputy governor Philip Shaibu said.
“Bendel Insurance standard and that of Edo Queens are going to be the same. There will be no gender discrimination among them in terms of welfare, in terms of salary.
“The plan is to make Edo Queens the highest paid female team in Nigeria. That is what we want to achieve.”
Bendel Insurance, one of Nigeria’s leading league teams in the 1970’s and early 80’s, were winners of the now defunct Caf Cup in 1994.
It also produced former international stars like Kadiri Ikhana, Thompson Oliha, Friday Elahor, Julius Aghahowa and Peter Odemwingie.
Deputy governor Philip Shaibu says Edo State’s men’s and women’s teams deserve equal pay
Despite two Nigerian titles in 1973 and 1979 and three FA Cup crowns (in 1972, 1978, 1980 ) the club’s slump from the heights of the past has been an embarrassing one.
“Imagine Edo Queens have never been relegated but we know about the men’s. We are putting both teams on the same scale,” added Shaibu.
“The male team have not been able to get to the semi-final of the FA Cup for over 12 years, but Edo Queens have been in the semi-final for the past four years.
“Why do we now pay Bendel Insurance more than them. Is it because they are women?
“So we decided that we have to upgrade them to the same level.”
Only a handful of clubs in the cash-strapped women’s league are self-sufficient under private owners, while 18 of the 20 teams in the men’s top division are under government management.
Back in July, Super Falcons captain Desire Oparanozie demanded that Nigeria’s women’s team are paid the same as their male counterparts.
The Super Falcons are the continent’s most successful national side with nine titles and remain the only African team to have played at all eight Women’s World Cup finals.
Yet the women can expect US$3,000 for a win and $1,500 for a draw at major tournaments, while the men’s team receive $10,000 and $5,000 respectively.
2 Comments
This is very good. This will encourage our girls and it’s very good for our female football. I expect NFF to do the same at national level.
This is a very good development. However, for it to make business sense, athletes should be compensated based on the revenues they generate. It makes no sense to pay anyone if they are not generating revenues. A solution would be to make the BASE SALARY for both men and women the same, then work out a compensation system that rewards increased revenues. That is, the more revenue the athlete generates, the more in demand the athlete is, the more money the athlete deserves. This should be the case for both men and women. Let the free market decide. For instance, if lots of people REGULARLY tune in to watch a womens’ match, then the female players deserve a decent share of the advertising and other TV revenues. If the demand for womens’ football is not as strong as the demand for their male counterparts, then it makes no business sense to pay equally. However, in the event that women perform so well, that the demand for them equals or even surpasses the men, then they would absolutely deserve equal or even more pay than the men. It’s a business, afterall.