This season’s Women’s FA Cup prize money has been greatly enhanced to a £3million total pot compared to previous years.

It means that Clapton CFC earned £8,500 in prize money for 2 wins and a defeat in this season’s cup run, compared to £3,215 for four wins and a defeat last season.

If we’d replicated last season’s historic run, becoming the lowest ranked team to ever reach the third round, we would have earned £23,500, seven times more.

The FA’s change of heart has partly been attributed to our own efforts last season, with much publicity of how we needed to crowdfund to play our third round away tie at Plymouth Argyle.

It’s hugely welcome but it’s still a long way off the Men’s FA Cup prize money, which totals £16million.

Winning the first round of the men’s competition would earn £41,000 in prize money, versus £6,000 in the Women’s FA Cup. It was a mere £850 last season.

So at our Women’s FA Cup first round tie against Ashford United, both sets of players posed for a photo in front of a banner ‘End FA prize money inequality’.

The FA should level up the prize money available for women’s teams in the FA Cup to the level paid to the men’s teams in the same competition.