The Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the union representing Australia's professional football (soccer) players, registered a at its November 20 Annual General Meeting.
The AGM was held just two weeks after the PFA secured a world-first equal pay deal for the Australian women's team, the result of a strong campaign by woman footballers backed by the PFA and supported by their male counterparts.
The PFAÌýnow enjoys record membership of almost 700 players, a 17% increase on the previous year. The PFA represents players across theÌýSocceroos andÌýMatildasÌý(the men's and women national teams), A-League, W-League and Y-League (top flight national men's women and youth leagues), NPLÌý(state-based leagues) and overseas based players. It has also ensured the coverage of every Australian footballer by a Collective Bargaining Agreement, with the extension of the A-League and W-League CBA.
But the PFA's big ticket win is equal pay for the Matildas.Ìý
On November 6, the Football Federation Australia (FFA) and PFAÌý that closes the pay gap between the Socceroos andÌýMatildas. This historic deal is the first example of a national women's footballing team winning pay equality with their male counterparts in the world.
Under the new, four-year CBA will see the Socceroos and Matildas receive a 24% share of an agreed aggregate of National Team Generated Revenues in 2019/20, rising by 1% each year of the deal.
The PFA said: "The new agreement reflects football’s determination to address issues of gender equity in all facets of the game."
Ìý