Seattle Sounders players are demanding a fair share of the FIFA Club World Cup prize money the team secured when qualifying for the international tournament, and received backing from the Major League Soccer Players Association on Sunday.
FIFA announced each participant would receive $9.55 million. The club is eligible for the payout after winning the 2021 Concacaf Champions Cup and becoming a Concacaf representative to the competition.
In addition to a statement from the MLSPA, players took to the pitch at Lumen Field in shirts that read “Club World Cash Grab” and “Fair Share Now” ahead of their match against Minnesota United on Sunday.
“The MLSPA and all MLS players stand united with the Seattle Sounders players who tonight demanded a fair share of the FIFA Club World Cup prize money. FIFA’s new tournament piles on to players’ ever-increasing workload without regard to their physical well-being. In order to seize this additional calendar territory, FIFA had to commit historic amount of prize money to secure club and player participation. As a result, MLS will receive an unprecedented financial windfall,” the players and the MLSPA said in a statement.
“Despite the 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 bonus terms, yet MLS has failed to bring forward a reasonable proposal. Instead of recognizing the players who have brought MLS to the global stage, the league — which routinely asks the PA to deviate from the CBA — is clinging to an out-of-date CBA provisions and ignoring longstanding international standards on what players typically receive from FIFA prize money in global competitions.
“It is the players who make the game possible. It is the players who are lifting MLS up on the global stage. They expect to be treated fairly and with respect.”
MLS did not immediately respond with a statement when contacted by ESPN.
The Sounders, who lost 3-2 to Minnesota on Sunday, kick off the Club World Cup against Botafogo on June 15 at Lumen Field before facing Atlético Madrid and newly crowned Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in Group B.
MLS teams Inter Miami CF and LAFC will also be participating in the tournament. LAFC was the last team to qualify for the competition, beating Club América in a one-game playoff on Saturday to replace Club León in Group D.