FIFA isn’t showing women the love or the money

$330 million in World Cup prize money separates the men and the women. That's just bad business. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, the heads and upper bodies of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - A need for [World Cup]( pay parity. - [A gene]( that seems to be a rarity. - [A seafood ban]( that lacks sincerity. - [A pension plan]( that can’t promise prosperity. FIFA Foul Photographer: Harold Cunningham - FIFA There’s nothing that gives me the ick more than a man in a position of power telling a woman that the paycheck she was [promised]( is [someone else’s problem](. FIFA President Gianni Infantino is, by definition, Exhibit A of such a man. In June, [FIFA]( confirmed that the players from all 32 teams participating in the Women’s World Cup would each be paid a minimum of $30,000. Simple math, right? Hahaha. Not so fast. Yesterday — on the eve of the games — Infantino had the audacity to make a rather key clarification, saying that FIFA is merely “an association of associations,” and that it can’t guarantee the players will actually receive the pay they were promised. When asked about his disingenuous stance, he [told]( reporters that “it’s a moment to focus on the positive, focus on the happiness, focus on the joy. … If somebody's still not happy about something, well, I'm so sorry.” I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Mr. Infantino, but no amount of garden-variety platitudes are going to close the $330 million gap that lies between men and women playing in the World Cup: The subject of pay parity has been on everyone’s brain since [a clever video]( created by a French telecom firm went bananas on the internet earlier this week. It opens with a series of impressive goals scored by the French men’s national team. Then, “halfway through comes the big reveal: [You’ve been deceived by FX](.” Bobby Ghosh explains: “The skills were actually executed by members of the French women’s team, known as Les Bleues, but clever editing replaced their heads and upper bodies with those of the men.” While the PR stunt did indeed capture the attentions of many, Bobby argues that a [less-viral video]( — featuring players from the Australian women’s team — makes a more [potent point]( about [the state of women’s soccer](. As it stands, female footballers only earn [25 cents]( for every dollar the men do, and the [Matildas]( are challenging the sport's international governing body to change that. “FIFA can and should set an example by dipping into its substantial reserves — $4 billion at last count — to equalize the prize money for the men’s and women’s World Cups,” Bobby says. The women’s games are projected to garner [2 billion views]( this year, almost double the viewership it had in 2019. “In the US, the value of women's [professional soccer]( franchises have increased more than 10-fold in recent years,” Adam Minter says, which “should be a welcome sign to more investors, but they will have to confront some issues.” A chief difficulty is airtime: Men's teams still get the crème de la crème of TV viewing slots (think Saturday and Sunday afternoons — prime couch-potato time). In 2019, a measly [5.4% of televised sports]( news and highlights showcased women's sporting events. Despite this, Adam says [the momentum]( is still on their side, as fans accumulate and engagement drives up the value of women's sports leagues and franchises. Let’s just hope the money and airtime dedicated to these [talented]( athletes accumulates, too. Good Genes My older sister and I may look like [carbon copies]( of each other, but — contrary to the hundreds of strangers who have asked us whether we’re twins — some of our genes are different. And after reading Lisa Jarvis’ latest [column](, I think I may have gotten the short end of the stick. Over the past three-plus years, I tested positive for Covid on two separate occasions. Yet my sister seemingly never got it, despite living in the same apartment as me (sharing the same bathroom!) while I was hocking up loogies and blowing through enough tissue boxes to warrant a Kleenex sponsorship. And she’s not the only one. You’ve probably heard a similar “I never got it” story from a loved one or friend, which inevitably ends with someone knocking on wood. “Why does one member of a household suffer a hacking cough but another not even a sniffle?” Lisa asks. Well, a group of scientists are one step closer to solving the mystery, and their findings “could help them develop better vaccines in the future — either for new variants of Covid-19 or entirely new forms of SARS,” she writes. The team of researchers (led by Jill Hollenbach) tracked data from bone marrow donors, keeping their eyes out for differences in a group of genes called HLA, which is essentially the cookbook that has “recipes for proteins that help our immune cells distinguish between our own biological detritus and unwelcome invaders,” Lisa explains. Patients with one gene in particular — HLA-B*15:01 — had immune systems that were scary-good at detecting Covid. This variant gave people a “kind of superpower” that allowed them to manage their Covid infections to the point where they didn’t have symptoms, Hollenbach told Lisa. So if you’re like my sister and never got sick from Covid, you can thank genetics. Read [the whole thing](. Telltale Charts OK, so here’s the thing about gaslighting: If you want to convince broad swaths of individuals that drinking treated water from a certain nuclear plant is No Good, Very Bad and Absolutely Evil, it’s probably *not* in your best interest to be totally chill with the treated water from other nearby nuclear plants that emit the same or higher levels of tritium than the one you want them to oppose. In other words, Hong Kong’s opposition to Japan’s treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant is utter quackery, Gearoid Reidy [writes](. A [ban on seafood]( products from four of Japan’s landlocked prefectures makes it obvious “that science isn’t leading this debate.” The UK is hopping on America’s pension bandwagon, adding private equity to its pots in the hopes that it will drive higher returns and superior growth outcomes. In Allison Schrager’s [opinion](, “it’s a terrible idea.” The US pension system has a unique obsession with risk, which is encouraged by the accounting standards and regulations that dictate it. The UK and Germany, on the other hand, dabble with steadier, fixed-income investments. And although it might be tempting for Europe to wade into some wilder, riskier waters, Allison says, “it is not clear that the US pension fund experience with private equity has been a resounding success.” Best to tread carefully when it comes to people’s post-retirement livelihoods, don’t you think? Further Reading US chipmakers are [right]( about Beijing. — Dave Lee The message in Jason Aldean’s [small-town anthem]( is clear. — Francis Wilkinson Tesla’s latest [results]( were a dream come true for bulls. — Liam Denning not the West, will pay the price for Xi’s communist [takeover](. — Minxin Pei [Hypocrisy]( is alive and well in Hollywood. — Parmy Olson Want to save the [Amazon](? Start by fixing property rights. — Eduardo Porter Jaguar’s new [battery factory]( gets the UK into the EV race. — Matthew Brooker The real estate bubble needs to [be popped](. But it’s going to hurt. — Lionel Laurent ICYMI Infants are [dying]( in Texas. The Swedish embassy in Baghdad is [on fire](. [Wheat]( prices are popping off. NYC is getting [a royal visitor](. Kickers [This mayor]( says dogs need passports. (h/t Lisa Jarvis) The only [sandwich]( that matters. (h/t Ale Lampietti) [Crab shells]( are good for batteries. [Girl Dinner]( walked so [Husband Meal]( could run. [Popcorn swimsuits]( are all the rage. Wait, is Ariana Grande dating [SpongeBob](? The surfboard-stealing seal has [a fan club](. Notes: Please send crabs and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](