United States Women’s National Team’s (USWNT) signing an agreement with US Soccer’s regulatory body on equal pay is a “monumental step forward” said forward Alex Morgan.
The players will be paid $24 million (£17.7 million), and US Soccer has promised that the men’s and women’s teams will be paid equally in all competitions, including the World Cup.
In March of this year, all 28 members of the squad filed a discrimination case.
Morgan told Good Morning America, “It’s a fantastic day.”
“This is just such a big step forward in feeling valued, feeling respected, and simply healing our relationship with US Soccer that’s been full of friction,” the two-time World Cup winner continued and said.
“It’s fantastic that we’ve taken that step forward. This is a win for women in general, not only for our team or women in sports.”
“I think we’re going to look back on this day and say this is the time that US Soccer changed for the better,” Megan Rapinoe, another USA teammate, said.
Something like this will never happen again, and we can move forward with making soccer the top sport in the country and preparing the next generation far better than we ever did.”
In 2019, the United States won the Women’s World Cup for the fourth time, and they have five Olympic gold medals.
In 2016, five senior members of the USA’s World Cup-winning squad, including Morgan and Rapinoe, filed a salary discrimination complaint against the national organisation.
In May 2020, a judge dismissed their equal pay claim, which sought $66 million (£52.8 million) in damages, prompting an appeal.
In September, the US Soccer Federation offered both men’s and women’s national teams similar contracts in an attempt to fix a salary disparity.
“We are pleased to announce that, subject to 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,” US Soccer and USWNT said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
U.S. Soccer and @USWNT are proudly standing together in a shared commitment to advancing equality in soccer. pic.twitter.com/Sp8q7NY0Up
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) February 22, 2022
“Getting to this day has not been easy,” it continued. While campaigning to obtain equal compensation for themselves and future athletes, the USWNT players have achieved remarkable success. Today, we honour the prior USWNT leaders who made this day possible, as well as all the women and girls who will come after them.”
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