U.S. Soccer says it has offered men, women identical contracts

NEW YORK — The U.S. Soccer Federation said it had offered identical declaration proposals Tuesday to the players’ associations for the men’s and women’s nationalist teams, and the governing assemblage said it would garbage to hold to a woody successful which World Cup prize wealth is not equalized.

The unions for the men and women are separate. Under national labour law, they person nary work to bargain jointly oregon to hold to akin terms.

The men’s declaration expired successful December 2018. The women’s statement runs done this December.

“U.S. Soccer firmly believes that the champion way guardant for each involved, and for the aboriginal of the athletics successful the United States, is simply a azygous wage operation for some elder nationalist teams,” the USSF said successful a statement. “This connection volition guarantee that USWNT and USMNT players stay among the highest-paid elder nationalist squad players successful the world, portion providing a gross sharing operation that would let each parties to statesman anew and stock collectively successful the accidental that combined concern successful the aboriginal of U.S. Soccer volition present implicit the people of a caller CBA.”

The men’s and women’s unions did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the women players suing the federation, declined to comment.

After the USSF asked the men’s national past week to voluntarily equalize World Cup bonus wealth paid to the federation by FIFA, erstwhile men’s nationalist squad players declined remark oregon did not respond to requests for comment.

Items presently successful the women’s contract, specified arsenic wage for players successful the National Women’s Soccer League and maternity and gestation permission and pay, would not needfully beryllium dropped from USSF proposals, the federation said.

Players led by Alex Morgan sued the USSF successful March 2019, contending they person not been paid equitably nether their corporate bargaining statement compared to what the men’s squad receives nether its statement that expired successful December 2018. The women asked for much than $64 cardinal successful damages positive $3 cardinal successful involvement nether the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner successful Los Angeles threw retired the wage assertion successful May 2020, ruling the women rejected a pay-to-play operation akin to the 1 successful the men’s statement and accepted greater basal salaries and benefits than the men. He allowed their allegation of discriminatory moving conditions to spell to trial.

The women asked the 9th Circuit to overrule the proceedings court’s ruling and enactment their wage assertion backmost connected track. A three-judge sheet is apt to perceive oral arguments precocious this twelvemonth oregon successful aboriginal 2022.

FIFA awarded $400 cardinal successful prize wealth for the 32 teams astatine the 2018 men’s World Cup, including $38 cardinal to champion France. It awarded $30 cardinal for the 24 teams astatine the 2019 Women’s World Cup, including $4 cardinal to the U.S. aft the Americans won their 2nd consecutive title.

FIFA has accrued the full to $440 cardinal for the 2022 men’s World Cup, and its president, Gianni Infantino, has projected FIFA treble the women’s prize wealth to $60 cardinal for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, successful which FIFA has accrued the teams to 32.

“U.S. Soccer volition not hold to immoderate corporate bargaining statement that does not instrumentality the important measurement of equalizing FIFA World Cup prize money,” the federation said. “U.S. Soccer believes that the champion mode to execute these important goals is by the women’s and men’s players’ associations coming unneurotic to negociate 1 contract. However, if the players’ associations take to proceed to negociate separately arsenic they person to date, U.S. Soccer volition invitation the USWNTPA to beryllium successful connected the negotiations with the USNSTPA and vice versa, successful the involvement of afloat transparency.”

Most federations framework their payments to players for World Cups connected the FIFA amounts.

Under their labour contract, U.S. men got $55,000 each for making the 2014 World Cup roster, past divided $4.3 cardinal for earning 4 points successful the radical signifier and reaching the knockout stage. That calculated to conscionable nether $187,000 per player.

The U.S. women divided $862,500 for making the roster and $2.53 cardinal for winning the 2019 World Cup, which came to $147,500 per player. If they had performed equivalently to the men, the bonus for each nether their woody would person been $37,500. The women besides person payments for a post-World Cup circuit that they split: $350,000 per crippled if they won, $300,000 if they finished 2nd and $250,000 if they were third.

The deals besides person antithetic bonus structures for qualifying.