New Zealand football has announced a pay parity deal for both the New Zealand men's and women's national teams.
The new contract offers four key factors for both the elite male and female footballers with pay parity, equal prize money share, equal rights for image use and business class travel for both teams.
New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin said it was a significant announcement for football.
"The Football Ferns, who are ranked inside the top 20 in the world, are the flagship of women's football in New Zealand. They are role models for the 30,000 female players throughout our country. It is important to recognise their contribution and form a revised agreement alongside the PFA," he said.
The Football Ferns against Scotland in Spain earlier this year. Photo: Photosport
Harry Ngata, a former All White and the NZ Professional Footballers' Association chief executive, was also pleased with the terms of the new agreement.
"We are confident this will add positive benefits to our elite programmes, not just for today's players but for those of tomorrow.
"The focus on gender equality was a significant outcome the men were extremely passionate about. We're looking forward to ensuring the success of our national teams," he added.
"The nature of this agreement will be the first of its kind and we're hopeful this will encourage other organisations to adopt a similar approach."
New Zealand is not the first country to implement pay parity for its footballers with Norway leading the way with a pay parity deal in October last year.
-RNZ
