Toa Samoa players will receive payments equal to those received by rugby league heavyweights Australia, New Zealand and hosts England at the Rugby League World Cup in 2021.

The tournament organisers have set aside a $6.4 million tala funding pot to ensure every player across the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments receives equal pay, as reported by Brad Walter of NRL.com.

Players aren’t paid by the tournament officials, but there will be a clause requiring competing nations to pass on a minimum payment to their players in the participation agreements for the World Cup.

Countries can then top up payments to their players, but it’s hoped the change will prevent a situation like at the 2017 World Cup where the Australia Kangaroos players earned $91,341 tala for winning the tournament while beaten finalists Mate Ma’a Tonga were payed just $913 tala for their efforts.

Each country is able to top up payments to their players but the move ends the disparity at the 2017 World Cup in which members of the winning Australian team received $50,000 each and their Tongan counterparts earned $500.

“Our board have worked hard with colleagues at the International Rugby League and the Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) to secure this positive and ground-breaking decision and we’re delighted with the outcome," tournament chief executive officer Jon Dutton told NRL.com’s Brad Walter.

“One of our core values as a tournament is inclusivity and we believe that our revised agreements showcase our determination to ensure we celebrate this in 2021.”

Each player at the World Cup 9s last weekend across the men’s and women’s tournaments received $3,649 tala for their participation, as revealed by NRL.com.

Equal pay across nations is also in place for the Oceania Cup, so the organisers are paying the Toa Samoa and Fiji Bati players who will square off on November 2nd $4,576 tala, the same amount the Australian Kangaroos and New Zealand Kiwis players will get for their test match this Friday night.