Without a doubt, today is a historic day for women’s soccer in the United States but also for the rest of the world, because the players have set a precedent, the result of a sustained struggle over time.
After six years of raising their voices in the stadiums, the media and also in the courts, the players of the United States women’s team reached a historic agreement with the United States Soccer Federation. The organization commits to the payment of 24 million dollars in bonuses to compensate for this time of abysmal salary gap with respect to the men’s national team. In addition, the American players managed to agree that from now on they will receive the same salary as their male counterparts for international matches.
The soccer players and the Federation published a joint statement on social networks detailing the agreement process: “Getting to this day has not been easy. The players of the United States women’s national team have achieved an unprecedented triumph while working for equal pay for themselves and future athletes. Today, we recognize the legacy of past team leaders who helped make this day possible, as well as the women and girls who will follow them. Together, we dedicate this moment to them.”
As the text indicates, the body will pay the players a total of 24 million dollars, of which 22 will be distributed among the players. The remaining 2 million will go to an account to support the players who retire and to promote campaigns related to women’s football.
In April 2016, five American players, including Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Three years after receiving no response and a few months before the 2019 World Cup in France, the players of the national team made the first complaint to the American Soccer Federation. There they pointed out that the organization paid their male peers a minimum of 5 thousand dollars per game, while they only received if they won against a team that was part of the top 10 of FIFA.
The footballers lifted the World Cup that year. And they did not hesitate to make their demands heard on each court where they played. Rapinoe, team captain and World Cup best player, human rights activist, loudly repeated “equal play” in front of the microphones. The public in the stadium chanted the same words.
However, the lawsuit of the women’s group was dismissed by the Justice in May 2020, pointing out that there was no basis to obtain salary improvements through the courts. The soccer players appealed the sentence.
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