The gender pay gap in football has become an important area of discussion recently.
The sporting world has been delighting in the current Women's World Cup, but the action in France has also brought awareness to the staggering disparity in player wages.
Definition: Pay gap
The gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working. Women are generally paid less than men.
Case: US Women
UN Women, an arm of the United Nations, highlighted the statistics this week by comparing Lionel Messi's earnings with players in the women's game.
The Barcelona star earns an eye-watering $84 million-a-year from his wages, bonuses, commercial deals and other payments.
That's more than double the amount being earned by 1,693 female footballers across the top seven leagues, which comes to a comparatively paltry total of $42.6-million-a-year.
And following the latest impressive 13-0 win by the US team over Thailand, calls for pay parity have been heightened.
No matter where you stand on the debate, it's an important conversation to be having and now Donald Trump - one of the world's most powerful figures - has waded into the debate.
Stance: Donald Trump
"I love watching women's soccer," the US President told The Hill. "They’re really talented.
"I know that when you have the great stars like [Portugal's Cristiano] Ronaldo and some of these stars… that get paid a lot of money, but they draw hundreds of thousands of people.
"But I haven't taken a position on that at all. I'd have to look at it."
So, in the opinion of Trump, it's understandable that male footballers like Ronaldo and Messi are paid more when you consider the commercial interest and economic brawn they offer.
Investment: FIFA
Fifa's position is that the organization is making significant progress in encouraging the women's game.
Prize money "is only a small part of the investments Fifa is doing for the development of women's football around the entire world," says Sarai Baremen, its Chief Women's Football Officer.
Over the next three years, Fifa plans to invest $400m-$500m directly into the women's game. Its last financial report showed that the organization spent $28m on women's football promotion.
The winners in France will receive $4m (£3.2m), double the amount of the previous tournament in 2015. The prize money given to other teams depends on how far they get, starting at $750,000 (£590,000) for taking part in the initial group stage.
In total, Fifa awards $30m (£24m) to the competing teams in the women's tournament.
Wider gender inequality issues
The pay issue is just one of many injustices that women’s soccer players face. For instance, women routinely play in more difficult conditions than men.
At the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada, players were forced to compete on artificial turf rather than grass, which many blamed for a range of injuries. At the World Cup, women also often play with fewer rest days between games, stay in less conformable accommodation, and travel in economy class.
Many women also note that FIFA and their national federations have not done enough to promote the women’s game around the world. One glaring example of this is the fact that FIFA scheduled the Women’s World Cup final this year on the same day as the finals for two other men’s tournaments – the Gold Cup and Copa America.
While many obstacles remain, the success that women’s footballers have had in challenging the status quo has inspired athletes in other sports to fight for their rights too.
Near future
What might the US women’s team do when (and if) they get their time in the spotlight in the final in Paris? Will this Women's World Cup a seemly platform to reduce pay gaps? Time will sort out.