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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has highlighted the disparity in pay between the women's and men's national football teams. In a tweet, he said "it is 2022 and men and women should be paid equally" and that "this should be the same in sports, especially in the national teams".

Vivian Bahlmann, a reporter for the German television channels RTL and NTV who has been following the story, says this has prompted a reaction from Oliver Bierhoff, a former football player who now serves as the national team director of the German Football Association. Mr. Bierfhoff has invited Olaf Scholz to talk to him and says he would be happy to explain the reasons for the "pay gap between female and male sports".

Miss Bahlmann cites the disparity in bonuses as an example. She says: "If the women would win the European Championship they would get a bonus of 60,000 Euros and the men, last European championships, their bonus was 400,000 Euros"

Mr. Bierfhoff however says the German Football Association is also focusing on "equal play" for women and are trying to give them "the same training conditions... the same amount of coaches, the same kind of preparation."

There is hope that the conversation on "equal play, equal pay" could extend beyond Germany to the rest of Europe.

(Photo: Germany players applaud the fans at full time after the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 Group B match at Brentford Community Stadium, London. Credit: John Walton//PA)

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