From today’s CNN Online:
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the United States Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) and the United States National Soccer Team Players Association (USNSTPA) have agreed to a deal that achieves “equal pay and set the global standard moving forward in international soccer.”US Soccer, under the agreements, will become “the first Federation in the world to equalize FIFA World Cup prize money” awarded to the teams for participating in World Cups.
“This is a truly historic moment,” said US Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone in a statement on Wednesday. “These agreements have changed the game forever here in the United States and have the potential to change the game around the world.”
Cone added: “US Soccer and the USWNT and USMNT players have reset their relationship with these new agreements and are leading us forward to an incredibly exciting new phase of mutual growth and collaboration as we continue our mission to become the preeminent sport in the United States.”
As part of the agreement, US Soccer will share a portion of its “broadcast, partner and sponsorship revenue with a 50/50 split of that share divided equally between USWNT and USMNT.”
“They said equal pay for men and women was not possible, but that did not stop us and we went ahead and achieved it,” said Walker Zimmerman, member of the USNSTPA leadership group.”We hope this will awaken others to the need for this type of change, and will inspire FIFA and others around the world to move in the same direction,” added Zimmerman.
The deal also encompasses other areas such child care, parental leave, short-term disability, mental health impairment, travel and equal quality of venues and field playing surfaces.
Read the complete story here.