The Danish men’s national football team has signed a four-year pay agreement with the Danish Football Association (DBU) that also supports the women’s team.
The agreement, which was arranged with Danish player union Spillerforeningen, will come into effect after this year’s UEFA Euro championships. It will see male and female players receive the same basic remuneration for appearing for the national team, as well as a 50% insurance coverage upgrade for the women’s team and a 40% upgrade for the men’s under-21 team, funded by a 15% decrease of the national men’s coverage.
The players and the DBU will jointly create a home hub for the men’s, women’s and youth national teams, and contribute one million Danish kroner (£113,277.50) each to a development fund whenever players qualify for a future championship to improve conditions. The union also arranged that the women’s team and DBU will begin negotiations this year rather than in 2025.
Instead of accepting a pay rise, the male players decided to help arrange equal working conditions for the women’s national team by raising women’s conditions and pay to the level of the men’s team.
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Michael Sahl Hansen, director of Spillerforeningen, said: “The men’s team chose not to demand any changes in the conditions in their new agreement. It’s an extraordinary step to help improve the conditions of the women’s national teams. So, instead of looking for better ones for themselves, the players thought about supporting the women’s team.
“They communicated that the money that was needed for this operation should come from the men’s team. We couldn’t accept that approach. The men’s team was upset, and so was the women’s team, as they felt uncomfortable that the money had to be taken from the men’s team. We didn’t want to talk with the DBU if the only way to give the women more money, would be by deducting it from the men’s team. That’s not how you create equality.”