USWNT Continues Fight For Equal Pay

The legal battle between the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) over equal pay appears headed for the Ninth Circuit.

The two sides came to an agreement on working conditions claims made by the USWNT covering charter flights, venue selection, the number of support staff, and hotel accommodations.

With U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner’s approval of the agreement on Monday, the women’s team is cleared to appeal his decision from May rejecting the team’s claim that they are underpaid. 

The two sides continued their battle in the press, releasing contradictory statements after the most recent ruling. 

The USSF wrote that “U.S. Soccer is 100% committed to equal pay,” adding that “We have offered the USWNT the identical compensation provided to our men’s players for all matches controlled by U.S. Soccer.” 

The USSF drew a distinction to FIFA, which gave out $400 million in prize money to the 32 men’s teams in the 2018 World Cup and only $30 million to the 24 women’s teams in the Women’s World Cup the following year. 

The USWNT shot back:

“In truth, USSF’s last settlement offer, which was over a year ago, offered far less than equal pay to the players. If USSF was ‘100% committed to equal pay,′ then USSF would have offered the players equal pay and equal working conditions.” 

The USWNT initially sued the USSF in 2019 over unequal pay and working conditions in comparison to the men’s team, seeking over $66 million in damages.