As all the stops were being pulled out to fly Boca Juniors and River Plate from Buenos Aires to Madrid for Sunday’s Copa Libertadores final, the winners of the women’s competition were having an altogether different travel experience.
To make matters worse, according to captain Yoreli Rincon, the paltry $55,000 prize money will go straight to paying off the debts of the men’s team, who themselves didn’t even qualify for the Copa Libertadores.
Atletico Huila and CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body, didn’t respond to CNN’s request for clarification on the distribution of the winnings.
“For being crowned champions we won $55,000, money that will never reach us,” Rincon said in a video published on social media.
“That goes to Atletico Huila’s men’s team, which has a different president than we do.
“Yes, we will get recognition from our president Diego Perdomo but it’s out of his pocket, not our prize money for being Copa Libertadores champions. Unfortunately, that is women’s football.”
By way of comparison, either Boca or River will earn $6 million for winning Sunday’s final.
