World's biggest countries following FFA's Matildas lead

Arguably the two biggest countries in world football, England and Brazil, have matched FFA's groundbreaking equal pay deal between the Matildas and Socceroos.

While the deals aren't identical, Brazil and (earlier this year) England's decisions to grant their men's and women's national football teams equal prize money and daily rates are a huge moment for the game.

And they may not have happened without FFA breaking ground and sealing the deal for the Matildas, which made headlines around the world.

One only has to look at the United States, which despite hosting the:

World's greatest women's football team
A men's team that can't qualify for the World Cup
Support for equal pay extending all the way to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden

Still can't get their equal pay fight through their association or the courts on appeal. Their 'pay equity' or the ideal of is one thing, but the arduous fight to get equal treatment in one of the largest and richest nations in the world perfectly illustrates how important the Matildas decision was.

It not only provoked a conversation around the world, it added a tone of not if, but when. That inevitability then added a sense of urgency, and a year later the pressure on nations like the USA is simply growing greater and greater.

Brazil's new deal, given the country's areas of poverty and more troublesome record on gender equality, is particularly impressive.

They now have one of the world's greatest female coaches, Swede Pia Sundhage, in charge of their national team, equal pay with their men's players and a woman in charge of coordination their entire women's system.

"Women will receive the same daily rate as those who already receive them. The women's team that wins or progresses through the stages at next year's Olympic Games will receive the same as the men," CBF president Rogerio Caboclo said. "There is no more gender difference; the CBF is treating men and women equally."

Matilda Alanna Kennedy briefly summed up what this means for the athletes themselves when FFA announced the decision in November last year.

"For us as females, it's always good when you're appreciated and they show the support," Matildas defender Alanna Kennedy told News Corp Australia at the time.

But even she may not have known just what it would mean for female athletes all around the world.