After what seems like forever, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced last week that it has finally decided to pay the U.S. Men’s National Team and the U.S. Women’s National Team equally after a longstanding pay gap. And now that the ink has dried on the deal, young girls throughout the country can dream big on the soccer field, knowing they now have the same opportunities as the young boys in their neighborhoods and schools.
The Long Road to the Deal
Proponents of women’s soccer have fought long and hard against the disparity in pay, with a settlement finally reached in February, which said that the two teams would be paid equally in the next union contract, and even offered the women’s team back pay totaling $22MM. The union contracts for both men and women were signed last week.
Becky Sauerbrunn, a player on the women’s team and president of the United States Women’s National Team Players Association, said, “We hope that this Agreement and its historic achievements in not only providing for equal pay but also in improving the…
