Berlin (dpa) – Led by star player Megan Rapinoe, the soccer players in the USA have won a historic victory in the fight for equality. After years of litigation, women footballers will receive the same pay as men from the US association.
“This is a huge win for all women. I think we’re going to look back on this day and say that this is the moment that US football changed for the better,” Rapinoe said on the US television show ” Good Morning America”.
A long-standing dispute has been settled
According to the settlement, US Soccer will pay the players $22 million, and an additional $2 million will go to a fund that supports women’s and girls’ soccer and post-career development. “We are pleased to announce that, pending the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement, we have resolved our long-standing equal pay dispute and proudly stand together to work together to advance equality in football,” the US FA said .
In addition to closing the income gap between players, tournament bonuses, for example for the World Cup, are also adjusted. That was also a major goal of the women.
However, the agreement still has to be signed and approved by a court. But that is considered a formality. For the settlement, the players agreed to waive any outstanding claims with the association in the gender discrimination lawsuit filed in 2019.
A monumental step forward
The US soccer players are much more successful than the men, have won four Olympic golds and four World Cup titles. But they were paid significantly less. In March 2019, they therefore filed a class action lawsuit against the association for discrimination. They wanted to win the bonuses they would have gotten if they had been paid at the men’s rate. The US soccer players demanded a reimbursement of 67 million US dollars.
The association justified its actions at the time, among other things, with the different premiums paid by the world association FIFA. The players rejected an offer that the association would pay the women as well as the men for games for which it was responsible. They also wanted the same compensation at world championships and other tournaments.
After initially failing in court, the footballers appealed last July. Now came the agreement. “This is such a monumental step forward in feeling valued and respected,” said international Alex Morgan. “I don’t see this as just a win for our team or women’s sport, but for women in general. It’s a day we’re all really proud of.”