Few football debates have gained as much traction recently as Erling Haaland’s influence on the Norwegian national team. While many worldwide architects of football have spoken their piece on the debate of equality. Fans have also entered the debate now with their own perspectives on equality.

While the groundbreaking deal was originally signed by the Norwegian Football Association (NFF) back in 2017, it went completely viral across social media following Norway’s historic, deep run into the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

As per the agreement, the men’s team decided to forfeit 550,000 kroner (≈ $70,000) of their own commercial and marketing revenues. They gave all that money to the women’s national team pot. Fans praised Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, and the rest of the Norwegian squad for using their World Cup limelight to promote their Women’s national team.

“That’s true, but never forget that the majority of those guys earn their money from their professional contracts in European leagues,” one fan said. “They make much more than the women in their careers, anyway. But it is the right thing to do. Their culture kind of demands it.”

“This is why Erling Haaland is a generational icon,” another said. “He makes millions at the club level, so using his international platform to elevate the women’s game shows true class and leadership.”

Many are loving this idea, but for others, this has sparked a controversial view on how people see women’s teams and their idea of equality. They claim that because the men’s World Cup generates billions in global broadcasting rights, sponsorship, and ticket sales compared to the women’s tournament does not mean women need charity. They need equal broadcasting rights and sponsorship to reach the same level.

“It’s not actually equality. It’s a band that masks a genuine phenomenon, which is that people don’t watch women’s sports,” a fan on the other side of the debate argued.

“Real equality is women making what they bring in. This is charity. The women receive charity from the men’s team, and you call it equality because you do not actually care about women being treated as equals. You care that the money matches,” fans criticised.

“It doesn’t sound like they would be paid equally for the same amount of “production.” If a person, regardless of their gender, generates a certain amount of revenue, that should be the basis of their income! Otherwise, the other person is getting charity and not “equal” pay,” another fan criticised.

The USMNT is also in this debate, as their team also preaches the custom of giving 50% of their earnings to the Women’s team. After their campaign ended in the round of 16, the USMNT got a massive $12.8–$16 million payout. US Soccer allocated roughly $6.5 million of it to the USWNT.