Norway men’s national team have taken a pay-cut so that their women’s side can earn the same amount.

Norway men’s team have had their collective 6.55m kroner (£626,219) cut to 6m (£573,635) so that their women’s side can earn the same amount.

Before, the women earned just 3.1m (£296,378) despite consistently doing better than their male counterparts. That’s quite a pay rise for not much of a loss to the men’s side, who were more than happy to oblige in the name of equality.

Norway captain Stefan Johansen, who plays for Fulham, is pleased to see the sides’ pay structure balanced out.

“I just think that’s how it should be,” he said. “I think it can help a lot for them. We want Norwegian football ahead. The ladies are as important as us.”

While it may seem like a small step and it’s just one national team, at least it’s a nod in the right direction.

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This was maybe a small thing for you to do for us. This will maybe not show in your monthly wages. This was maybe an obvious move for you to do! This though means everything for us! For our team! For our sport! But not at least for all the female athletes out there, who does the same work, same sport as men's do, but get paid less! For you to say that equal pay is how it should be, makes me wanna cry! Makes me Wanne hug you all! Thank you for making this step for female athletes. For showing equality and for helping us all, making it a bit easier, to chase our dreams. To make them come true! RESPECT #equalgame #equalpay

A post shared by Caroline Graham Hansen (@graham95) on Oct 6, 2017 at 11:22am PDT

The top earners in the FA WSL are said to get around £35k-per-week. When you look at what the men take home, figures that are often at least three times that amount for the same amount of work, you can understand why some balance is needed.

Obviously, it’s not as easy as clicking your fingers and Arsenal Women suddenly all taking home £100k every week.

Even though the women’s game is steadily becoming more popular, it may never reach the heights of the men’s game.

And therein lies the problem. With popularity comes TV rights and sponsorship deals. Money. Without that, there’s presumably not a lot the clubs can do.