Soccer is a sport that attracts huge fan base in the US and the world as a whole. It ranks among the highest paying sports, thanks to the commercial partnerships the game attracts. While women soccer might not be at the same level with the male football, it is taking shape as time passes. In most instances, players receive some amount whenever they represent their national teams and earn wages in professional teams.
With numerous developments in the competition, most federations have come under scrutiny due to issues of mismanagement. The most recent culprit is the U.S soccer league that faced claims of pay discrimination despite numerous achievements of the team. The allegation from five of the women’s national soccer team argued that the male counterparts earns higher with most getting as little as 38% of the male counterparts. The complaint came from some of the veteran players that contributed immensely to the modern glory of the team.
The five players filed the complaint with the equal employment opportunity commission despite legal tussles between the union and the soccer federation over the legality of the collective bargain agreement. According to the Players attorney, the talks have not seen the light of the day as the Federation termed the demand irrational. The three-time world cup winner and Olympic defending champions seem to have sailed higher their male counterpart team that has not gone beyond the world cup semifinals since 1930.
Despite winning the 2015 world cup, and registering the highest number of views in the US, the team feels deprived of the right to equal the male national team that ranks 29th globally. The move has attracted uproar with some claiming the need for the women’s team to play against the male team and beat them to qualify for the standardization. In a vivid explanation, the US soccer federation attributed the disparities to the varying levels of revenue between the two teams. For instance, the men’s team received $9,000,000 in the round of 16 with the women receiving $2,000,000 for winning the world championships.
It is no secret that the US woman is the most successful in the history. However, FIFA is yet to accord the women’s game the significant interest. The federation responded to the association’s Proposal with a lawsuit against the players. Under the present terms, women players are entitled to $75000 of bonuses if they win the world cup with the male counterparts receiving nearly $400000 for winning the same trophy. The women team’s record seems to work against them, as they receive no bonus for qualifying for the world cup, with the male team getting 2.5 million for the same.
