Index-a This Week's Puzzles So You Think You Know Soccer A soccer goal is what dimensions, yards wide and feet high: 8x7; 7x8; 8x8 or 9x8? According to FIFA World Cup rules which flag must be displayed inside each match stadium besides those of FIFA/Fair Play, and the two competing nations? Approximately how many million people play regular organized football in the world (at the early 2000s): 5; 25; 65; or 250? The word soccer derives from: Sock; Association; Kosher; or Socrates? What is not required by the rules of soccer: Goal net; Penalty spot; Specified ball pressure; or Shin guards? The 2014 World Cup Finals allocated European and African teams respectively how many places: 3 and 9; 4 and 10; 5 and 13; or 6 and 15? What city/club football rules, which spread widely in the late 1800s, introduced heading, corners, throw-ins, changing ends, and the goal crossbar: Sheffield; Paris; Milan; or Berlin?

FIFA's 2014 World Cup Finals/Qualifying rules dictate a match squad of how many players: 18; 23; 26; or 30? In the 2010 World Cup Final, Jo'bulani was the: Winner's national anthem; Winning goalscorer; Ball; or Trumpet-like horn blown by fans? The minimum rest-period between two games for any team at the 2014 World Cup is how many hours: 24; 36; 48; or 72? Soccer rules award what after an 'own goal' directly from a throw-in: Goal; Penalty; Corner; or Drop-ball? The headquarters of FIFA are in Brussels; London; Zurich, or Oslo? Who has made the World Cup footballs since 1970: Adidas; Puma; Umbro; or Nike? The World Cup Qualifiying matches between El Salvador v Honduras in 1969 coincided with what mutual event: Independence; Earthquake; Drought; or War?

The first ever ï¿½100,000 (or above) football transfer, in 1961, was: Bobby Moore; Pele; Dennis Law; or Eusebio? A white ball was first used in a World Cup in: 1930; 1950; 1966; or 1982? The centre circle of a soccer pitch is used only at kick-offs/re-starts, and in which other game feature? Matthias Sammer, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, and Luis Figo won what between 1990-2002: European Cup; World Cup; Golden Boot; or European Footballer of the Year? The first, second and third placed teams at the 2014 World Cup receive how many medals: 20; 30; 40 or 50? Soccer has been an Olympic event since: 1900; 1964; 1992; or 2002? PAGE 6 The World Cup pay gap – POLITICO Notify me of new posts by email.

FC If FIFA or whoever could have two golden geese rather than one, they would. If they thought that promoting women’s sports would disproportionately increase their revenues, they would. People don’t watch women’s sports because women are worse athletes, and this decreased viewership (regardless of your anecdotal evidence) translates to lower compensation. Is this really Politico? Am I on some tumblr blog? Posted on 7/6/15 | 5:09 PM CET Dude This article barely mentions revenues. I’d bet that most men’s sports earn far more money than women’s. The one exception probably being tennis. Posted on 7/6/15 | 9:34 PM CET James Wadsworth Article is interesting, but would be helpful to know the comparative revenue for the mens and womens games. One source on the internet says mens tournament earns 71 times more than the womens tournament. Also, mens tournament has 32 teams, womens 24. Is the author suggesting that the professional womens players get paid the same or close to men? Certainly a death blow to any womens league. Author needs to take a business class or two.

I actually enjoy the womens tournament more than the men, because you know that have a chance to win. Posted on 7/6/15 | 10:20 PM CET Bill Hogan To those guys with their sexist heads in the sand: More Americans watched the Women’s World Cup championship than the Stanley Cup or the NBA Finals. Posted on 7/6/15 | 11:13 PM CET noonecares How about telling how the last 2 women’s soccer leagues all went bankrupt when they paid the players more? This is an attempt to actually have a league that exists for a sport no one cares about until the World Cup finals. Posted on 7/6/15 | 11:56 PM CET To Bill Hogan Maybe they’re just not ethnocentric, Bill. You’re comparing an international tournament run by an international body to national championships in the U.S.. You’re right though, that’s sexism and not just you believing the U.S. is at the center of the universe. Posted on 7/6/15 | 11:58 PM CET noonecares To Bill Hogan, what else important in sports was on this weekend?

It was a perfect storm of July 4th patriotism in sporting a WORLD CUP final game… People wanted to feel patriotic and watch American kick Japan’s butt. It could have been the world cup finals in nose picking.. people would of watched. Get back to me when a regular season women’s soccer game gets decent ratings. Posted on 7/6/15 | 11:58 PM CET Erik The money ain’t the same because the money ain’t the same. The Men’s World Cup, as an event, makes a LOT more money (the cheapest tickets for Brazil cost more than the most expensive seats for the Women’s World Cup). Pay-out should be much closer than it is, for sure. Just don’t expect the Women’s event to pay the same until the profits are the same. For reference: The 2015 WC had 1,353,506 in total attendance (with tickets starting at $20 per head). That’s a lot of people and a lot of money. The Men’s 2014 WC drew 3,429,873 spectators (starting at $90 per head).

That’s 2.5 times as many people paying more than four times as much money. The math dictates roughly 12 times as much revenue generated by the Men’s event compared to the Women’s. Using that ratio as a template, the Women’s teams should be paid about double the current rate. However, paying equally just isn’t in the cards because it would mean paying the players millions more than the event brings in to begin with. If we really want to talk about what’s “fair”, point a finger at the NFL’s tax shelter or their lack of drug testing. At some point, pay scale is dictated by consumer demand, and Women’s soccer fans are only willing to pay so much. Posted on 7/7/15 | 12:10 AM CET Dilllon It is somewhat disingenuous not mention the staggering differences in revenues generated by the Men’s and Women’s tournaments. The 2014 men’s tournament generated $1.4 billion in ad revenue compared to 2011 women’s tournament which generated $5.8 million dollars. Even if the 2015 generated 4 times as much revenue as the 2015, the U.S.

women are still getting a larger piece of the pie revenue pie than the German men got. Posted on 7/7/15 | 1:14 AM CET Doug Smith At the end of the day sports is about entertainment and quite frankly women’s sports in this case soccer isn’t cutting it. Yes they just won the women’s world cup but women’s international soccer has far less juggernauts as opposed to mens international play. Women are far less athletically gifted and make for boring sporting events. Thats not me being sexist just honest. For example why would I watch the WNBA if I could watch faster, stronger and above the rim play on the NBA? PR and marketing EXPERTS know this and won’t bother investing in TV time that doesn’t maximize viewership. Women’s leagues failing financially shouldn’t upset other women it should motivate them to pursue careers where their skills will be well compensated. Its not sexist it’s capitalism. Posted on 7/7/15 | 2:17 AM CET Max Entropy Men’s soccer brings in 80 times the revenue. That’s 80 times not 80% more.

So if the men are paid only 40 times as much then they are underpaid. Posted on 7/7/15 | 4:43 AM CET Will Has more to do with revenue. It’s all about money. The more money you generate the more money you will be paid. Compare last year’s world cup to the women’s world cup of this year in terms of attendance, total viewership, advertising, ticket revenue, and other items that make up the money. You will have your answer why women are paid less. Women models get paid a lot more than men models. Maybe I should just scream sexism. Or I can actually do research and look at the numbers and determine that the women models bring in more revenue than men models and that is why they are a lot more. That is why men athletes get paid higher than female athletes except tennis. Tennis they are paid the same prize money because tennis athletes are about the same in terms of bringing revenue and viewership rating. This lesson is brought to you be juicy fruit. Don’t chew on the bullshit.

Posted on 7/7/15 | 6:18 AM CET S Of course there is the whole “women don’t generate as much revenue” rhetoric flying around here. The article is not saying, even it out right now, it’s saying – there are some institutional practices at play that are reinforcing the revenue and therefore wage gap. The women’s World Cup final had bigger viewership than both the NBA finals and the Stanley Cup finals. This translates to revenue. But only the final two games were even on anything but a special Fox sports channel that no one watches/gets. The point is, yes, it’s clear that women sports generate less revenue, but could there also be opportunity to allow for the success of American female athletes on the international stage to generate some additional viewership and increased revenue? Sure, but that is going to take some very closeminded people to back off the sexism in sports pedal and take a look at how they’re possibly perpetuating this lack of interest in women’s sports. Additionally, if anyone wants to make some sort of insane claim that men’s soccer is somehow more popular than our women’s team -you’re kind of nuts.

Our men’s team is AVERAGE at the best of times, and our women’s team has always churned out international stars like Mia Hamm, Wambach, Lilley, Akers, Chastain and more. Considering these women basically have to have two jobs to even play at a national level and are still showing up as world champions is a testament to their level of play. Posted on 7/7/15 | 6:25 AM CET Cristian As most of the participants have already commented the main reason for this pay out gap is the difference in public interest and resulting revenues. With the exception of the US there is probably no country where women’s football generates more interest than men’s football. For example, in Germany, probably one of the traditional hotbed of women’s football in Europe, the Champions League final between local team Frankfurt and Paris St. Germain was only watched by 2 million people, whereas the men’s final (without German participation) between Barcelona and Juventus attracted over 10 million spectators. There are different reasons for this gap but I guess that the most straight forward explanation is the difference in quality.

With all due respect for women’s football but watching a world cup match is in technical and tactical terms like watching a a second or third division men’s team. It can be entertaining, but it cannot really stand a comparison to top quality football. And consequently it is usually the branch of football that most only people watch, if there is no other match on tv, Posted on 7/7/15 | 12:12 PM CET Kate Not bad – the women’s team only earned 17 times LESS than the men’s team. We’re moving up in the world ladies.. ::snark:: Posted on 7/7/15 | 2:30 PM CET Johnny Thompson I’ve heard enough of this crap. Yes, there is absolutely a pay gap between men and women in the United States that needs to be fixed. However it is around 9% according to actual studies, not the BS 30% that is pushed by sensationalists, which is merely the difference between median wages between men and women, with no regard to job performed or hours worked. One huge problem with the way people are going about the gender wage issue is articles like this.

Feminists seem to be searching for any difference in pay between men and women, and then blaming it on sexism. First it was the difference in cost between female/male soaps. They charge women more for fragrant soaps because they will pay more, it’s as simple as that. Less men care about smelling good than women do. That’s not sexists. If you don’t like paying more for a certain soap, then don’t buy it. There is one simple fact regarding women’s athletics wages – THEY AREN’T THE BEST IN THE WORLD. I’m sorry to break it to you, but the top 0.01% of men who become professional athletes are exceedingly more physically talented than the top 0.01% of women who become professional athletes, not to mention the fact that they are able to do it as their sole profession because it makes a hell of a lot more money. There is absolutely no comparison. It is basic human physiology. Nobody is going to pay significant money to watch people who either A) aren’t associated with whatever college they graduated from, or B) AREN’T THE BEST IN THE WORLD.

If it weren’t for the fact that this was a United States nation team game and it is around the 4th of July, nobody would ever watch women’s soccer. I’m sorry, it just doesn’t happen. That’s why nobody has figured out how to make money off of it, nobody cares about women’s soccer when it isn’t the country playing. It’s the same reason nobody watches 90% of the sports that are in the Olympics, there are certain things we only care about if it is the national team playing. I personally love soccer and enjoyed watching the women’s team, but please spare us all the feminists propaganda and work on fixing the actual issue, spewing crap like this does nothing to support your cause. It simply makes people like me, who want to fix the gender wage gap, think you are either a sensationalist who has no problem using misleading facts or simply stupid. On a side note, I never thought I’d see the day that somebody would be calling for athletes to make more money. What a joke. Posted on 7/7/15 | 2:55 PM CET J First off the men’s world cup has a 60 year head start over the women’s game.

That’s 60 years of endorsements, product placements and recognizable names to begin with. The women’s game in retrospect is a new comer to all this. To me that’s like a mid-level maager wanting to be paid like the CEO when they havn’t been in the company long enough. Viewership for the male games during a world cup is fever-pitch Where as for the females the viewership peakes during the finals. I believe that those ladies should be paid fairly for their talents, but this has been done before with two previous U.S women’s soccer leagues that tanked. The viewership isn’t their for a regular women’s soccer season, it’s barely their for a Major League Soccer match. In due time the women of future World Cup teams will be paid handsomely, but this is something that takes time to build. I give nothing but respect to those awesome women who were out there leaving it on the field for the finals, but sexism aside the men’s game is far more competitive and interesting to watch. (I will say that I do prefer to watch the Ladies Football League over a regular season NFL game).

Posted on 7/7/15 | 3:07 PM CET Matthew The reality of women’s soccer is that the NWSL is the third crack at a pro league in North America after two priors have already gone under. The NWSL is only viable because the national soccer federations in Canada, the US and Mexico are all paying the top 6-7 players on each team, freeing the team up from having to cover those salaries, PLUS the national federations are covering all the front end office costs on behalf of the teams, as well. Anyone who thinks that the women are getting shafted needs a reality check on how heavily their game is getting subsidized to keep it alive at the pro level at the moment. The Portland Thorn FC, Christine Sinclair’s club, gets 7-8K in the stands every game, with a peak of about 16K so far. To reach that average attendance level in England, you have to drop to the 10th division, where there are 291 teams playing in roughly 18 leagues. That’s in ONE NATION in Europe. The only people who think that the women got shafted are the ignorant.

The fact of women’s soccer is that no one freaking watches it. There’s no TV revenue, no merchandise revenue, no endorsement revenue, and there’s only enough from ticket sales to pay the bulk of the players around 10K a year. You want more money, ladies? Check that discretionary spending and maybe think about dropping more cash on supporting women’s sports. As long as 98% of all the money spent on sports memorabilia, tickets, events, TV packages, etc. is coming from male wallets, it will continue to be a male game. Posted on 7/7/15 | 3:46 PM CET michael We watch the women every 4 years play 4-6 games. Its easy to drum up patriotic excitement in america in a sport they expect to win in. I guarantee you i watch our women play every friendly, and match along with our men. But in all fairness if the level of competition between the men and woman were the same, Alex Morgan, Susic, Wambach, Lloyd would be signed to contracts in leagues like La Liga, and EPL.

They arent, and im sorry but trying to act like the WWC is as big in scope and importance as the actual World Cup is a slap in the face of the women who play. Posted on 7/7/15 | 4:41 PM CET JR That’s a pointless and illogical comparison. Of COURSE more Americans watched WWC than a U.S. League final. OBVIOUSLY, more Americans are going to watch a game where their national team could win the championship, than a game where only two cities are still in the tournament. “To those guys with their sexist heads in the sand: More Americans watched the Women’s World Cup championship than the Stanley Cup or the NBA Finals. Posted on 6/7/15 | 11:13 PM CEST” Posted on 7/7/15 | 5:02 PM CET Michael Hughes This is justifiable because male soccer players possess infinitely more acting talent.

Posted on 7/7/15 | 5:28 PM CET reality In America, Fox took in about $17 million in ads from corporate sponsors for this year’s women’s matches, but ESPN took in $529 million in sponsorship revenue from 2014’s men’s tournament in Brazil. Women’s tournaments brought in only 3.2% of the revenue men’s tournaments brought in. Based on that, the women should be happy they’re getting 25% of the money the men received, even though they only brought in 3.2% of the revenue men did. This stuff is simple economics, not gender issues. The reality is, ALL people are more interested in men’s sports than women’s sports. Plain and simple. Posted on 7/7/15 | 6:09 PM CET Cameron HOLY CRAP Does this writer know anything about revenue?? What a stupid article. Cry me river Mary Pilon. Posted on 7/7/15 | 6:28 PM CET Bobby The men weren’t paid more because they were men. They were paid more because they GENERATED MORE REVENUE. Do you not understand how advertising works?

Are Minor league baseball players paid the same as major leaguers? No. Are Arena football players paid the same as those in the NFL? No. Are soccer players in the MLS paid the same as those in Barclays Premier League? No. Why? Because of sexism/racism/anyother-ism? NO! Posted on 7/7/15 | 8:38 PM CET To Bill Hogan Are you for real with this? “To those guys with their sexist heads in the sand: More Americans watched the Women’s World Cup championship than the Stanley Cup or the NBA Finals.” Are you seriously not aware that both the NBA and NHL also have 82 game regular seasons too? Posted on 7/7/15 | 8:44 PM CET RK This is a simple issue of return on investment. The free market will increase the pay of women athletes proportionately to what they generate for entertaining the masses.

Posted on 7/7/15 | 9:24 PM CET Bur Davis Not noted above, but of direct interest, reported that “Fox and Fox Sports 1 have averaged 5.3 million viewers, 121% higher than the 2011 tournament average through the [Women’s World Cup] semifinals, and 33% higher than TNT’s average for its NBA playoff coverage. The win over Germany attracted 8.4 million viewers, the most ever for a women’s soccer match that wasn’t a final.” Posted on 7/7/15 | 9:31 PM CET ANSWER? COED GAMES Dumbest thing I’ve read in a minute. Agreed this cat needs a business class or two. Do you pay two people the same amount of money for a job if one of them is 10% as good as the other one at it? If women were equal in athleticism and could put on the same show the men do, then there would be ONE league with coed participation. Hell, they could do that now, and it would just be the end of about 95% of women’s sports leagues. This stance on sports inequality is just ridiculous.

Rant over. Posted on 7/7/15 | 10:48 PM CET Limey Hmmm. Equal pay is a nice idea – and I bet the men at Wimbledon would like it too. But they get paid less – in real terms – than the women. They did before 2007, and now the gap is larger. Funny that not one feminist – or even those women who claim they want equality, rather than power – has brought this up. At least female footballers make an effort – i.e. they play for the same length of time (no extra breaks when it gets hot). But there are male players in the lower European leagues getting peanuts too, and any team of these would trounce the best women’s team. Posted on 7/8/15 | 12:25 AM CET Edward Stop talking about ratings, ratings are an outlier when it comes to US games, everyone gathers for National Pride. This article should have brought up revenue between the two world cups. It was a $576 mil payout, but the mens have more teams in Fifa and more teams compete in the world cup.

Posted on 7/8/15 | 1:11 AM CET Rick The women actually get over 4% more of the generated revenue than the men (Over 13 compared to 9). The problem is that the women’s cup isn’t as popular as the men’s outside the U.S.. Big difference between $40 million and $4 billion (South Africa 2010) in revenue. Posted on 7/8/15 | 1:11 AM CET Brian The fact that there is woman’s soccer is inherently showing favoritism to woman. If you want equality then there would be no men’s soccer and women’s soccer there would just be soccer. Gender would not matter. The problem with real equality is that it would really just be men’s soccer. Posted on 7/8/15 | 1:46 AM CET Sherrie Barnett Posted on 7/8/15 | 1:46 AM CET Chris Adams The writer clearly shows the source of the problem – the mens world cup brought in 40x more revenue. They payout for winning the mens world cup was 17x bigger.

Arguably the women are getting a larger share of the pie they created, it’s just that the pie is a lot smaller. “Fair” and “deserved” is not how pay is calculated or a biologist doing great work curing cancer would be paid more than some new college software grad working on a phone app that does some silly thing, which is not the case. The good news is that the final drew a bigger TV audience than game 6 of the NBA finals. This is amazing progress over the last 20-30 years. It’s why there was a $2M purse. The problem is that womens soccer is attracting this audience in spurts once or twice per four years, so more growth is needed. But the world is changing rapidly for womens sports. The more they attract eyeballs the more they will get paid. Posted on 7/8/15 | 2:51 AM CET skyler The fact that the U.S. won this tournament says a lot about the tournament itself. The rest of the world could care less about this game. It’s simple as that. Equality doesn’t mean that we should be forced to like woman’s sports. Get over it.

The men’s world cup is the greatest sports event of all time watched by billions of people. END OF STORY. Posted on 7/8/15 | 3:04 AM CET Really Really just Really which ones the bigger event by a fucking country mile. Is it also unfair that the champions leauge pays out more than the johnstowns paint no because one is a much bigger event than the other Posted on 7/8/15 | 3:31 AM CET james This is a typical feminist rant where facts that are not favorable to your victim campaign are conveniently brushed aside. It’s not sexism, it’s economics. If you look at the payout vs. revenue taken in, the women were paid a higher percentage than the men. The fact is the women’s game doesn’t put people in the seats or command advertising revenue like the men. The men bring in greater revenue, but get a lower percentage of that revenue. See Posted on 7/8/15 | 3:38 AM CET Poop magee Not being sexist here but more viewers doesn’t mean they make more money.

They still have to get ad deals that are paid for before the game and not many companies would pay for the actual amour of viewers they had because not one would have predicted it. Also more predict viewers (typically found in men’s sports based on statistics) would result in more companies competing for add spots giving more revenues somewhat like the insanely high price per ad in the Super Bowl because they know almost all Americans will watch it. Then also the bonus and pay are already set before the games meaning the amount of end viewer probably won’t result in higher pay until next World Cup where they will expect more viewers. What I am saying here is don’t jump to conclusions about sexism until you see data that actually corresponds to the topic at hand which is the pay of women not the popularity of women’s sports Posted on 7/8/15 | 6:19 AM CET Etienne Children make the world go round when little girls across the nation start standing up and demanding to watch their sports hero’s the revenues will follow. I’d guess more little boys ask for a football jersey come Christmas. Posted on 7/8/15 | 8:12 AM CET Dudet You’re all misogynist for criticizing a women.

Posted on 7/8/15 | 8:19 AM CET dexxie Erik gives some of the detail about tickets sold and concludes that the women should be paid double what they are now. This however doesn’t include the viewing figures, once they are taken into account then the only conclusion is that Women footballers are either over paid already or Men are underpaid. Posted on 7/8/15 | 3:19 PM CET High School Glory Lets say your high school football team just won the state championship. You are a fan so you celebrate which you have every right to do. But then you say ridiculous things like “My high school has won more championships than the Houston Texans. Its unfair that the texans make millions while the players at my hs make nothing. They make less winning a championship then the Texans make losing every year” Any logical person would point out the competetion levels and how much harder the nfl is than hs football but you continue to spew nonsense. This is what you people sound like. The gold medal winning USWNT in 2012 lost 8-2 to the Mens u17 a bunch of high school juniors and seniors who get paid almost nothing.

If you really want to talk about equality the women were overpaid compared to their talent level. Posted on 7/8/15 | 4:26 PM CET Nicky J To anyone arguing that there is any comparison whatsoever between the skill level/athleticism between men and women in this sport or any other, let me lay down some knowledge. I saw a practice match between the WC Champion USWNT and the US U-17 Boy’s team. The boys won 8-2 without any trouble at all. I’m talking about a team of pubescent boys who CRUSHED the best women this country has to offer. Serena Williams, the most dominant woman in the history of tennis, a physical and tactical juggernaut in the women’s game, boasted that she could beat any man ranked below 200. The 203rd ranked man, Karsten Braasch, took her up on it, and trounced her 6-1. He then proceeded to beat Venus, who had made the same boast, 6-2. During the sets it was plainly obvious that he was taking it extremely easy.

The game of golf has been enjoyed on a professional level by both men and women since the pro game’s earliest days. Every woman who has ever dared to make the transition to the PGA has been beaten to bits until finally being forced to return to the Ladies’ Tour. This, in a game of nuance and precision with very little weight given to strength or speed. Point being, men are much, much more athletic, and thus more entertaining to watch in sport. The pay discrepancy is entirely logical. Full stop. End of discussion. Posted on 7/8/15 | 4:46 PM CET TC I agree companies are missing out on the opportunity to put more cash in women’s programs. That said they make less comparatively because the interest isn’t nearly as high. Simple economics. People usually want to see the best and women’s sports will never be that compared to men..The link :look at each four year peak. During men’s competition there is about 10x more interest in the World Cup this last year, which is up, so that is promising. Nonetheless in prior years Womens WC was a blip.

Posted on 7/8/15 | 9:18 PM CET Marcel Men are not better than women, and vice versa. But, there are undisputable and structural physiological differences between men and women. In practically every athletics event, the men’s best time/distance is ‘better/faster’ than the women’s best time. If we removed the barrier of male/female separation in all events, there wouldn’t be a lot of women qualifying for the finals of any event. That’s not to do with sexism, but simply structural physiological differences kicking in. Pay for professional sports should be based exclusively on the commercial value of the sport in question. Only commercial and popular interest should count, and not some bureaucrats idea of ‘equality’. And where is the equality in women getting paid the same in tennis, despite doing less work? Men play best of 5, women play best of 3. In tennis, as in any other sport, pay should be determined based on commercial and popular interest (viewer ratings). With men’s football, there are far more spectators in the stadiums worldwide, far more TV viewers and they all pay more to watch men’s football than those who watch women’s football.

Certainly the case here in the Netherlands where most top league men’s games are sold out, whereas the women’s league has to give tickets away for free and still cannot fill the stadiums. I’m sure the strongest women in the world could easily kick my butt, but they couldn’t kick the butts of the strongest men. I’m sure the fastest women in the world would easily outrun me, but they do not outrun the fastest men. Sorry ladies, but the structural physiological differences aren’t going away. Posted on 7/9/15 | 1:44 PM CET Jeff “It leads to a fascinating chicken-egg problem: If networks did a better job of promoting women’s soccer, would more people watch it? Or, if more people watch women’s soccer, will the networks begin to pay more for the rights?” The same could be said about any sport, which is simply a form of entertainment. If the networks did as good of job promoting the NHL, would it have the revenue of the NFL? If AA baseball were televised, would people watch it?

Heck, lots of people watch obscure sports every four years at the Olympics, should those people get Tom Brady sized payouts in the name of equality for performing their sports, which would make much more money if they were treated equally? Posted on 7/9/15 | 2:42 PM CET Andrew Professional athletes are in the realm of paid entertainment. Just like actresses, musicians, comedians, clowns, TV news personalities, ballerina dancers, magicians etc. No one has a right to earn money playing sports. If you’re good enough at getting people to give you their money so they can be entertained by you playing a sport, then you can earn a living this way. If not then you need to find a different profession where you can. Posted on 7/9/15 | 9:30 PM CET Tyler Ya, and what’s your point? Hardly anyone watches this sport. There’s no ad revenue or big corporate sponsorships or sold out stadiums. My bar trivia team barely makes $30 when we win whereas Ken Jennings won millions of dollars. Life ain’t always fair.

Posted on 7/10/15 | 2:15 AM CET REALLY LOL at pay gap like the two are comparable in the slightest, the skill level and viewership just isn’t there, no revenue = no pay, no one cares about the women’s game outside of the world cup, it’s the men’s clubs that shell out massive figures for the best players in the world, this article might become relevant when U19 men’s sides are no longer ravaging the top women’s national teams in the sport. Posted on 7/10/15 | 6:13 PM CET Anonymous FIFA should really be nicer to the women. Alex Morgan’s friend from college got cancer from artificial turf. (I got some of this information from Alex’s autobiography called breakaway) say #WomensSoccerRules Posted on 7/13/15 | 11:31 PM CET MZ If this were equal pay for equal work, could the argument be made that there is not equal work? Meaning, wouldn’t the women have to play the men?

Begs the question of whether 1) the men actually have to work harder (the work is not equal because the competition is greater, 2) what about overall revenues – pay is typically tied to availability of funds, even high viewership is after the fact, that would be baked into the advertising for the next world cup cycle, now that we know the women will draw an audience, the payouts may go up a bit based on increases in ad revenue Posted on 7/20/15 | 5:36 PM CET Michael Coleman Not only in sports, but at most of the places there is this gender gap. Whether it may be sports or the business, women and the men have this gap based on different and many issues. Why they don’t understand the droit social of an individual? If they would be knowing these rights then they don’t have the right to generate any kind of stupid gaps. Those who are creating these issues just show them the rights.

Ivory Coast v Japan: World Cup 2014 – as it happened | Football | The Guardian World Cup 2014 Ivory Coast v Japan: World Cup 2014 – as it happened Didier Drogba celebrates a goal for Ivory Coast. Not his goal, mind, but he's a team player. Photograph: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images Saturday 14 June 2014 23.03 EDT First published on Saturday 14 June 2014 20.00 EDT 3.58am BST Full time It's all over. The Ivory Coast come from one goal down to overhaul Japan in what was a very watchable match. All it took was two headers in two minutes. Japan will be disappointed. They seemed in control for so long. But once they went behind they seemed to lack the energy and wit to grab an equaliser. Mark O'Donnell is back to close out the coverage: "I got the score wrong but it's been another cracking game, glad I stayed up for it. Japan just seemed to fade away in the second half. Anyway, it's definitely time for bed now..." Thanks for all your emails.

For those of you in the UK, get some sleep for goodness' sake. Bye now. 3.53am BST 90 min + 4: Ya is down again, moments after coming back on. He's carried off between two sturdy shoulders. And he no sooner clears the sideline than the referee ends the match. 3.52am BST 90 min + 4: Japan again go long but there's no plan behind it. And again, the Ivory Coast deal with it comfortably. It's looking like Ivory Coast's night as the clock ticks past the four extra minutes... 3.50am BST 90 min + 3: A lengthy stoppage is endured before Japan knock it long in hope. But Drogba wins possession and runs clear. 3.49am BST 90 min + 2: Four minutes of additional time, as Ya sits on the deck, glistening with sweat, worrying over his knee. 3.48am BST 90 min: The Ivory Coast take a couple of corners that they don't seem too interested in knocking into the middle. But their attempts to hold the ball up results in a goal kick to Japan.

3.47am BST 89 min: Don't rule out Japan just yet, says Kalim Quadri. "They've recently been scoring goals at the death. Usually good levels of fitness but they all seem a bit leggy out there." They better get a wriggle on... and now Kalou forces Kawashima to tip his angled shot out for a corner. 3.45am BST 87 min: An explosion of action! First Barry punches a Japanese cross into midfield, then Gervinho sets off at pace down the central corridor. He attempts a one-two but his one is better than the two and an opportunity goes begging. 3.43am BST 85 min: Drogba nearly seals it! From a Kalou incursion on the right, Drogba is found all by his lonesome on the left-edge of the box. He has time to line it up and hit it sweetly but a desperate Japanese leg thrown in front of it (still attached to the body it belongs to, just to be clear) does enough to deflect it wide.

3.40am BST 83 min: Playing something like 2-5-3 at the moment, the Ivory Coast are playing keepings off. Japan are struggling to get the ball here. 3.39am BST 80 min: Uchida, Honda and Kagawa move the ball around the egde of the Ivory Coast box but the Elephants are back in numbers and a clean shot can't be found. Up the other end all of a sudden and a foul 30-yards out, in centre field, gives the Ivory Coast a free kick. Drogba takes it and it's headed to the top right corner but Kawashima pushes it wide without too much bother. 3.36am BST 79 min: Japan seem a little muted here, particularly since they are a goal down. The humidity could be a factor, but perhaps they are gathering their strength for one last push. Only ten to go. 3.35am BST 77 min: A hurried shot from distance by Yaya Toure threatens not. With the ball out of play, Bony is substituted for Konan Ya.

With that goal under his belt, the Swansea man will be pretty happy about how his night turned out. 3.33am BST 76 min: Bernardo Sousa reporting live from the Ivory Coast. "The mood here is the same as ever: Drogba is the sole [player] responsible for this turn around. His aura, his bravery, his attitude. Everything about Drogba is sanctified. No coincidences here!" Methinks you have a man crush. 3.31am BST 74 min: Ivory Coast substitution: Boka off for Djakpa. 3.30am BST 72 min: Boka has been carried off with a knock of some description, and now Uchida is called off-side just as he gets on the end of a long raking pass. 3.28am BST 71 min: Rob Richardson is very happy ("Drogba! Drogba! Drogba! etc) while David Healey has made up his mind which team to support in this one: "After careful consideration I've decided I want Japan to win because they've got at least one player in normal black football boots.

"I've just read that back and dear me what an old codger I've become. Also, I'm clearly a massive jinx!" 3.27am BST 69 min: And so the game has been turned on its head! Ever since Drogba came on, in fact. Not that he had anything to with the Ivory Coast goals but it can't just be a coincidence can it? 3.25am BST GOAL!! Japan 1-2 Ivory Coast (Gervinho 67) Crikey! The Ivory Coast are in front! In an almost carbon copy of the last goal, Aurier, fed by Gervinho, sent in another testing cross. This time it was Gervinho who got of the end of it, his header finding the bottom right corner. Kawashima was there at the near post, but the ball bounced through his hands. He should have had that. 3.22am BST GOAL! Japan 1-1 Ivory Coast (Bony 65) Aurier, who's having a great night, curls in a wicked, Beckham-esque cross and Bony, wasteful up until now, holds off Morishige to thump home a header!

3.20am BST 62 min: Substitution Ivory Coast: Drogba on for Serey... so not Bony, who is reprieved. And immediately he causes trouble for Japan, his back-heel to Gervinho in the Japanese box creating havoc. But no goal. 3.18am BST 60 min: It's a bit scrappy here with both teams losing possession left, right and centre. 3.16am BST 57 min: Classic Yaya! He races forward and into the box like a train out of a tunnel, using his strength to keep Yoshida at bay. But the ball gets tangled under his feet, and he then falls and rolls a few more times than was necessary. Moments later, another Bony glancing header has too much glance on it. Drogba must be on soon. 3.13am BST 55 min: Honda and Endo stand over the ball and have a long and satisfying chat about life, the universe and everything. They should have discussed what to do with the free-kick, however, because it's wasted.

3.11am BST 54 min: Japan substitution: Captain Hasebe off, Endo on. And now Okazaki is fouled by Bamba —a foot across the knee— just outside the Ivory Coast box. 3.10am BST 53 min: "Yaya Toure seems to be stuck in third gear," says the commentator, perhaps forgetting that's his default position. 3.09am BST 51 min: Zach Neely has an answer on that bib issue: "Regarding Van Persie, FIFA by-law 1301.5(b) clearly states that 'Raymond Reardon is wasting his life.'" 3.07am BST 49 min: Japan get numbers forward and Hasebe tries to catch Barry off guard with a shot from the left edge of the D but he drags it wide. 3.06am BST 46 min: Kagawa slides in to hook a ball from the feet of Serey on the Ivory Coast byline. He gets up to shoot but it was over the line. Up the other end and Bony misses an excellent chance! Aurier's cross is deflected but finds Bony anyway.

Perhaps the slight deflection threw him off but his unopposed header hits his left ear and the ball flies wide of the right post. Not the happiest game for Bony so far. 3.03am BST Peep! Here we go! The Ivory Coast win early possession as we note that Bony has not been pulled (sorry) for Drogba as some have anticipated. 3.02am BST They are coming back onto the pitch and Japan get into a huddle, obviously working out who's going to take the kick-off. 2.57am BST Raymond Reardon is still thinking about yesterday's Socceroos-Chile match. "On the subject of the fabulous flying dutchman Robin van Persie, after being substituted in the 79th minute he re-entered the playing field without his FIFA allocated bib to help celebrate Arjen Robben's 80th minute goal," he says, warming up. "In Aussie Rules a team captain can call for a count of players and if it exceeds the maximum allowed then the opposition's total score is annulled at that point in time. What is the position in regard to FIFA world cup matches?" Anyone?

2.53am BST Rob Richardson is also intrigued by the background sounds. "Watching from Brooklyn New York," he says. "What in the world is that sound in the background? I hear drums. But I also hear a sound that sounds like bees being swung in a hammock. What does it sound like from Australia?" From here? More like wasps in a sock, I'd say Rob. Could be the Coriolis effect at play. Or something. 2.47am BST A very enjoyable half of football that, with opportunities for both teams. 2.46am BST 44 min: Some nice interplay by the Ivory Coast —Aurier, Gervinho, Yaya— finds the Machester City hero in space but his shot-on-the-turn from the six-yard box is blocked. Kawashima then makes a regulation save from a follow-up speculator. Updated at 2.58am BST 2.43am BST 42 min: As Kalou nurses a sore thigh, Richard Ashton wonders if he is falling into a trance.

"Oddly hypnotic sound from these drums and shakers in the crowd (although the fact it's 2.30 and I have work in the morning may also have something to do with the trance-like state I'm slipping into)." 2.42am BST 41 min: The pattern here seems to involve Japan sitting back and striking on the counter. Some of the Ivory Coast players seem to have the turning circle of semi-trailers, so it's not a bad ploy. 2.40am BST 39 min: Oh Gareth, Bony goes close! Serey digs out a cross and Bony meets it near the penalty spot but he miscues his volley and it goes high and wide. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. 2.39am BST 37 min: Gareth Morris Jones is watching form Japan. "I'm torn," he says. "I'm a Swansea boy watching from my sofa in Osaka. Perhaps my ideal result is a Bony hat-trick in a game he ultimately loses. I'm enjoying your updates- I struggle to follow the Japanese commentary..." 2.37am BST 35 min: End to end stuff.

Honda goes on a mazy dribble and finds room for a shot but it's deflected for a corner, which comes to nothing. 2.36am BST 34 min: The Ivory Coast are getting on top here and Bony angles a pass ahead of Gervinho but his early shot is blocked by Bamba for a corner. The corner is cleared and Boka, from about 30-yards, hammers it back and Kawashima is forced into a diving save! That would have been some goal. Bony goes for the rebound by he's offside. Updated at 2.37am BST 2.32am BST 30 min: And misses. But it was a much closer thing. This time he went for the top right corner and the curl was there to take it past Kawashima, but it was a tad too high. Not sure if Kawashima would have saved that had it been a couple of inches lower. 2.31am BST 29 min: Gervinho in space now and, as he gets into a good shooting position, Osako clatters into the back of him. Yaya lines up another free kick a few metres outside the D...

Updated 23 min: ... but Yaya's shot clears the bar and sails into the crowd. 2.24am BST 21 min: It's all Japan now... but as I speak, Dia wins possession in the midfield and gallops through the central channel like a thoroughbred. As he approaches the D and attempts to jink around Yoshida, the defender brings him down. He gets a yellow, and the Ivory Coast get a free kick in a great position. 2.22am BST 19 min: Now Japan are threatening, and Uchida almost gets Japan another! Motoring down the right, he skips past Serey, shapes on his left and shoots. But Barry gets down to his left to keep it out. How quickly momentum has shifted. Updated 2.19am BST GOAL! Japan 1-0 Ivory Coast (Honda 16) All of a sudden Japan have the lead! A short corner is whipped across to Honda just inside the box and with more time than he should ever have had, he leathers a left-foot firecracker past Barry's right glove into the top left corner!

2.17am BST 15 min: Okazaki wins a near post header and attempts to glance it into the far corner but he doesn't hit it cleanly enough. But the Ivory Coast have to clear for another corner. 2.15am BST 14 min: Okazaki, leaping for a midfield header, is collected by Zokora in a heavy knock. He looks a little ginger, as you would be. Zokora has some heft. From the free kick Japan threaten down the left but Aurier is there to clean up for a corner. Honda takes it... Updated at 3.01am BST 2.14am BST 13 min: Japan have just not got themselves into this game as yet. They are finding it hard to penetrate into the final third. There's a wall of orange shirts blocking their way. And now the rain starts to fall. 2.12am BST 10 min: Honda and Osako try to fashion a cross from the right but, under pressure, Osako loses the ball over the byline before Barry needs to worry about an incoming threat.

Updated close 1.30am BST And here’s François Kouakou on the Ivory Coast’s tactical set-up , as well as these few answers to some key questions: Who is the player who is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup? Gervinho. He may have been a flop at Arsenal but the man with a suitably Brazilian-sounding nickname will arrive at the World Cup in dazzling form following his superb season with Roma. Explosive and penetrative, he can trouble any defence. Who is the player who is going to disappoint the most? It could be Didier Drogba, but it all depends on how the manager Sabri Lamouchi uses him. He should not start, but would be better if used as an impact substitute. His physical powers may be dwindling but his fierce pride means he will be determined to make his presence felt, as he did after coming on in the recent 2-2 friendly draw with Belgium. What is the realistic aim for your team at the World Cup and why? For once the draw has been kind to the Elephants but it is a pity that so many of the players are possibly just past their best.

However, they still have potent firepower and could blast their way out of the group, but a dodgy defence will probably prevent them from going much further.” 1.27am BST So, you want a little more on our combatants today? Don’t look at me, I just work here. Best, I think, to leave you in the hands of some authorties from the Guardian Experts’ Network series : Ben Mabley and François Kouakou. Here’s Ben on Japan’s transformation under Zaccheroni . And here’s his take on a few salient questions. “Who is the player who is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup? Japan may still lack a top-class goalscorer, but they don't necessarily need one as long as the striker facilitates those just behind him. As he showed against Holland, Yuya Osako can be that man. The 23-year-old sometimes flattered to deceive during his first four years at Kashima Antlers and was dropped from the Japan squad for the London Olympics.

But 19 J-League goals in 2013 earned him a chance at the East Asian Cup, before that excellent performance against Holland where he combined so well with Honda, Kagawa, and Okazaki. A January move to the Bundesliga second tier appeared risky six months ahead of the World Cup, but Osako has been a regular performer for mid-table 1860 Munich, top scoring with six goals in just 15 appearances. Who is the player who is going to disappoint the most? The clear issue is in defence, but since expectations there are so low as a result, it probably would not count as a disappointment if the back line imploded. As a colleague at JSports recently pointed out, Honda may be the absolute central player to whom injury would be most devastating, but because he is such a consistent performer, Japan's fortunes actually depend more on the form of Shinji Kagawa. It is vital for the side's attacking fluency that the former Borussia Dortmund star is confident and on his game. There is little point in Honda pulling all the strings in midfield if Kagawa is moping about his difficult season at Old Trafford and cannot exert similar levels of influence.

What is the realistic aim for your team at the World Cup and why? To go one step better than South Africa 2010 and reach the quarter-finals. Under Zaccheroni, Japan no longer have to compromise their attacking capabilities as they did four years ago, and as they have shown over the past 12 months against Italy, Holland, and Belgium – as well as Argentina and France earlier in Zac's reign – on their day they are capable of troubling and beating the very best sides in international football. However, when forced backwards their defence can capitulate to almost any opponent, so it will be vital for Japan to seize their attacking rhythm early on in matches and remain on the front foot. There are by no means any guarantees of escaping a very challenging, evenly-matched group with Ivory Coast, Greece and Colombia, but doing so would give them plenty of confidence ahead of a potential clash with England or rematch against Italy in the last 16.”﻿ Updated 1.02am BST Preamble Hello there.

After Colombia romped home against Greece to get Group C up and running some eight hours ago, it’s time for the second Group C fixture, this one between the Ivory Coast and Japan, teams who’ve played each other only three times in history. The head-to-head? For what it’s worth —about 15c (or 8p)— Japan lead 2-1, although their last meeting, in 2010, was a 2-0 win to Les Éléphants, which, if my French is right, translates as “The Elephants. What can I say, some people are just good with languages. This match, held at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife, north-east Brazil (‘just’ across the South Atlantic from the Ivory Coast… so practically a home game for the Ivory Coast), has been painted, with broad brush strokes, as a contest between muscle and pace. Fortuitously, for the sake of nicknames, the muscle belongs to Les Éléphants. The pace, then, is the chief weapon of Japan, aka “Samurai Blue”.

It’s a clichéd delineation, certainly, but with the Ivory Coast squad including the likes of Didier Drogba, Wilfried Bony and Yaya Toure, the Colossus of the Côte (and the Counter of the Cakes), and the Japan side featuring Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda, and Shinji Okazaki, all rapiers rather than broadswords, it’s accurate enough. Both sides should fancy their chances in this one, and indeed for progressing from the group, one of the most open at the World Cup. If Group B is the obligatory Group of Death, Group C could be the Group of Tantalising Possibility. Admittedly, that doesn’t resonate quite so well. Anyway, for the Ivory Coast, who have never made it beyond the group stage, this could be the last opportunity for the so-called Golden Generation (a moniker that can be akin to a shackle… just ask England) to actually shine at a World Cup.

Drogba, Didier Zokora and Kolo Toure will almost certainly be playing their last copa do mundo, while Yaya Toure, at 31, and the youngest of this group, is no sure thing to last until Russia 2018. He’ll need the cooperation of a body that has been known to betray him and, yes, he'll need to keep his cake consumption to a minimum. So what can these aging, European-based elite players, and Kolo Toure, do to help the Ivory Coast fulfil their dream of becoming the first African team to make the World Cup semis? We’re about to find out. Japan, meantime, under Italian Alberto Zaccheroni, look to be a team on the upswing, not the down. After bowing out at the knock-out stage in South Africa 2010, Zaccheroni was appointed and he set about rebuilding. Not just touching up the cornices and ripping up the carpet to get at the boards underneath, mind, but re-stumping and wall-flattening.

So after getting rid of some old wood —but retaining some eye-catching features, like Honda, and Okazaki, who scored 15 goals for FSV Mainz in the Bundesliga last season— he built a team around some young attacking midfielders and full-backs, the kind that make fans shift to the edge of their seats. And like bees with the sniff of pollen in the air, his Japan side made an immediate impression on Argentina (for a 1-0 friendly win in his first outing as coach), and they powered on to win the 2011 Asian Cup. Happy days continued when they were the first team to qualify for this tournament and, to bring you up to speed, they are unbeaten in their past five matches, a sequence that includes a 3-2 win over a Belgium side that is every hipster’s World Cup dark horse. Could Japan’s technical nous and zip prove too much for the Ivory Coast today? Who can really say? Best to watch and find out. Kick-off: Saturday 10pm local time, Sunday 1am in Abidjan, 2am in London, 10am in Tokyo, and 11am in Melbourne.

(That’s a late kick-off local time, but then we are led to believe Brazilians are up all night dancing and what not.) 1.50pm BST

Question: The minimum rest-period between two games for any team at the 2014 World Cup is how many hours?
Answer: 48