U.S. Soccer has become the first federation to equalise FIFA World Cup prize money awarded to both genders for participating in their respective World Cups.

U.S. soccer women’s and men’s national team players will receive equal pay and prize money, including the World Cups, after agreeing on landmark collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) with the U.S. Soccer Federation on Wednesday.

For official competitions, including the World Cup, national team players will earn identical game appearance fees for women’s (USWNT) and men’s (USMNT). For other official competitions, players of both genders will also receive equal/ identical game bonuses.

U.S. men's and women's teams strike equal pay deal with the governing body — Image Source: AFP

“This is a truly historic moment. These agreements have changed the game forever here in the United States and have the potential to change the game around the world,” said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone.

According to the U.S. Soccer, the collective bargaining agreements will run through 2028, covering the successive two Olympic cycles and World Cups. They will also keep the players from both genders among the highest-paid national team players globally.

Under the new agreement, the United States Men’s National Team(USMNT) and United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) will have identical performance-based bonuses for all competitions and games.

Former US First Lady, Michelle Obama, tweeted her congratulations to the players.

https://twitter.com/MichelleObama/status/1527039374579359745

“I’m so proud of the talented players of @USWNT who worked tirelessly for years to advocate for the pay they deserve. I’m thinking of all the little girls everywhere who dare to dream and will see this team as an example of what’s possible when you never give up,” she wrote.

The women’s team have the same pay-to-play payments as their male counterparts and will no longer receive guaranteed salaries. 

Revenues Earned by Sponsorships

In another first for the players’ unions and U.S. Soccer, U.S. Soccer will share a portion of its partner, broadcast and sponsorship revenue with a 50-50 split divided equally between USMNT and USWNT. “The new revenue-sharing framework will provide additional encouragement for all parties to work together to grow the game,” said U.S. Soccer.

The federation said that the agreements also improve player safety, data privacy and health and the need to balance responsibilities to both their country and club. ”The accomplishments in this CBA are a testament to the incredible efforts of WNT (women’s national team) players on and off the field,” said USWNT player and USWNT’s player association President Becky Sauerbrunn.

The decision came three months after the U.S. Soccer and USWNT agreed to resolve a years-long dispute over equal pay in sports.

It ended a dispute dating back to 2016 when a few players from the USWNT filed a federal wage discrimination complaint. It claimed that they were paid less than their male counterparts even though they generated more income for the U.S. Soccer Federation. “The gains we have been able to achieve are both because of the strong foundation laid by the generations of WNT players that came before the current team and through our union’s recent collaboration with our counterparts at the USNSTPA and leadership at U.S. Soccer,” Sauerbrunn added.

The deal also covers other areas such as child care, retirement, insurance, parental leave, short-term disability, mental health impairment, travel, accommodation, equal quality of venues and field playing surfaces. The men’s World Cup is set to be played in November-December this year in Qatar, while the women’s edition will be held next year in Australia and New Zealand.

The USWNT are the most successful international women’s soccer team, having won four World Cups, including the last one in 2019, whereas the USMNT has never won a World Cup.

While the U.S. women have been successful on the international stage with back-to-back World Cup titles, differences in FIFA prize money meant they took home far less than the men’s winners.

American women received a $US110,000 ($158,000) bonus for winning the 2019 World Cup. The U.S. men would have received $US407,000 ($585,000) had they won the year earlier.