US women’s team wins landmark equal pay lawsuit
Washington D.C., Feb 22 (EFE).- The United States women’s national team on Tuesday won its equal pay dispute with the governing body US Soccer in a deal that is set to match the players’ salaries with the men’s team and includes a compensation payout worth $24 million.
It heralds a landmark result for the USWNT in their fight for equal pay.
“I’m just so proud of all the hard work that all of us did to get us here,” Megan Rapinoe, two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner and an Olympic gold medalist, told ABC’s Good Morning America on Tuesday.
Alex Morgan, another of the team’s stars and, along with Morgan, the face of the players’ fight for equal pay, added: “This is just such a monumental step forward in feeling valued, feeling respected and just mending our relationship with US Soccer.”
US Soccer said in a statement: “We are pleased to announce that, contingent on the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement, we will have resolved our longstanding dispute over equal pay and proudly stand together in a shared commitment to advancing equality in soccer.
“The US Women’s National Team players have achieved unprecedented success while working to achieve equal pay for themselves and future athletes.”
US sports media such as ESPN reported that $22 million would be shared out among the team while US Soccer would earmark $2 million to player retirement funds and to finance projects to boost equality in the sport.
The pay dispute began in 2016 when five players — Rapinoe, Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Becky Sauerbrunn and Hope Solo — filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over salary inequalities.
Three years later, 28 players filed the suit against US Soccer with a federal court in California.
The USWNT dominates women’s soccer globally and has won four World Cups. It has been far more successful by that measure than the USMNT, which failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. EFE
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