Washington, May 19: The US Soccer Federation reached milestone agreements to pay its men’s and women’s teams equally, making the American national governing body the first in the sport to promise both sexes matching money.
The federation on Wednesday announced separate collective bargaining agreements through December 2028 with the unions for both national teams, ending years of often acrimonious negotiations.
The deals grew partly out of a push by players on the more successful women’s team, including stars like Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, who were at the forefront of the gender equity fight while leading the team to a Women’s World Cup championship in 2019.
The struggle became so much a part of the team’s story that chants of “Equal pay! Equal pay!” rose from the crowd as US players celebrated winning the title in France.
Morgan and Rapinoe could still be beneficiaries of the deal, though the next Women’s World Cup is in 2023 and the makeup of the team will have changed by then.
The settlement was contingent on the federation reaching labour contracts that equalized pay and bonuses between the two teams.
Perhaps the biggest sticking point was World Cup prize money, which is based on how far a team advances in the tournament. While the US women have been successful on the international stage with back-to-back World Cup titles, differences in FIFA prize money meant they took home far less than the men’s winners. (AP)
