Sounders Demand Fair Share of Club World Cup Money
Seattle Sounders FC players have raised their voices, demanding a fair share of the financial prize from the FIFA Club World Cup. The team, qualified for the international tournament, is backed by the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA).
The FIFA announced that each participant would receive 9.55 million dollars. This sum is the result of the club’s victory in the 2021 Concacaf Champions Cup, which secured them a place as Concacaf representatives in the competition. In addition to a statement from the MLSPA, the players took the field at Lumen Field wearing shirts that bore the slogans “Club World Cash Grab” and “Fair Share Now” before the match against Minnesota United FC on Sunday.The MLSPA and all MLS players stand united with the Seattle Sounders players who tonight demanded a fair share of the financial prize from the FIFA Club World Cup. The new FIFA tournament adds to the players’ growing workload without taking their physical well-being into account. To secure this additional territory in the calendar, FIFA had to commit a historic amount of prize money to secure the participation of clubs and players. As a result, MLS will receive an unprecedented financial gain.
Statement from the players and the MLSPA
Despite this windfall, the league has refused to allocate a fair percentage of those funds to the players themselves. For months, the players have privately and respectfully invited the league to discuss the terms of the bonuses, but the MLS has not presented a reasonable proposal. Instead of recognizing the players who have brought MLS to the world stage, the league, which habitually asks the PA to deviate from the CBA, clings to the outdated provisions of the CBA and ignores long-standing international standards on what players typically receive from FIFA awards in world competitions.
It is the player who makes the game possible. It is the players who are elevating MLS on the world stage. They expect to be treated with fairness and respect.
The Seattle Sounders will begin their participation in the Club World Cup against Botafogo on June 15 at Lumen Field, before facing Atlético de Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, recently crowned Champions League champions, in Group B.MLS teams, Inter Miami CF and LAFC, will also participate in the tournament. LAFC was the last team to qualify for the competition, after defeating Club América in a single-match playoff on Saturday, replacing Club León in group D.
