Norway's elite female footballers will now earn as much as their male counterparts when they play for the national team, in a ground-breaking move for gender equality in sports in the Scandinavian country.

The Norwegian women's team was previously allotted 3.1 million kronor ($387,000) a year, less than half the amount given to the men's team.

But in keeping for Norway, one of the world's most gender equal nations, a new agreement has been brokered between the Norwegian football federation and the players' association (Niso) that sees the former almost double the amount given to the women's team to 6m kronor while the men's 6.55m budget has been trimmed by 550,000 kronor to bring the two teams in line.

"This agreement is probably unique in the world," acknowledged Niso head Joachim Walltin.

"It's very positive that Norway is a pioneering country in this field."