After making the nation proud with yet another soccer World Cup triumph, fans and players of the all-conquering U.S. Women’s National team immediately restated their demands for equal pay with their lesser-decorated male counterparts.
As FIFA president Gianni Infantino strode onto the pitch for presentations after the USA beat Netherlands 2-0 in the final, a large section of the crowd could be heard loudly and clearly, chanting their wish. Equal pay! Equal Pay!
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When you look at the stats related to performance alone it’s impossible to argue against equal pay, at the very least. The USWNT have dominated women’s soccer since the first World Cup in 1991, winning four titles and placing at least third in the other four.
In contrast, the men’s team have struggled. Their best result in the illustrious tournament is a 3rd place, back at the very first World Cup in 1930 when only 8 teams entered.
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When it comes to World Cup prize money, this is decided by FIFA. As the men’s World Cup is a much older and more established competition, interest and revenues are still far higher, and the prize money reflects this.
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The prize for the 2018 men’s World Cup stood at $400 million, while female players will receive $30 million this year. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the organization will double it for the next women’s World Cup in 2023, but star player Megan Rapinoe said there still would be a long way to go.
“It certainly is not fair,” she said. “We should double it now and use that number to double it or quadruple it for the next time.”
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The issue with the US team is that the players earn less despite generating more revenue locally than their male counterparts
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Domestically in the U.S. market, the women’s team are by far the more successful both on and off the pitch. US women’s soccer games now generate more revenue locally than men’s—but the players still earn less.
The Women’s team filed a lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation some months ago, suing them for gender discrimination by paying the women less than members of the men’s national team.
The claim is that the women do “substantially equal work and are denied at least equal playing, training, and travel conditions; equal promotion of their games; equal support and development for their games; and other terms and conditions of employment equal to the MNT.”
“At this moment of tremendous pride for America, the sad equation remains all too clear, and Americans won’t stand for it anymore,” said Molly Levinson, spokeswoman for the USWNT players in their equal pay lawsuit.
“These athletes generate more revenue and garner higher TV ratings but get paid less simply because they are women.”
This is why the lawsuit is going ahead, with support from the men’s team.
“The United States National Soccer Team Players Association fully supports the efforts of the US Women’s National Team Players to achieve equal pay,” they say in a statement. “Specifically, we are committed to the concept of a revenue-sharing model to address the US Soccer Federation’s ‘market realities’ and find a way towards fair compensation.”
What do you think? Should the U.S. Women’s National Team be getting equal pay to the men from the US soccer federation?
What about the World Cup? Is the division of prize money fair, when revenues are taken into account? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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