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After six years of fighting, the U.S Women’s National Soccer Team has settled their equal pay lawsuit against U.S. Soccer. The group of athletes will share $24 million and there is a pledge from the soccer federation to equalize pay for the men’s and women’s national teams under the terms of the agreement, per NY Times.
U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, was one of the leaders of the fight, and she told TODAY Tuesday. “In the end it came together.” “For us as players I’m just so proud of the way we stuck together and really just kind of put our foot down. This is a huge win for us,” she continued.
Following the news Tuesday, Eva Longoria supported the decision by sharing a screenshot of an article with hands clapping gif on her Instagram story. Longoria is part of the female-led ownership group of the new NWSL professional team called Angel City based in Los Angeles.
Members of the World Cup-winning soccer team fought for years for the equal treatment of female players and their male counterparts. Under the agreement, the group of several dozen current and former players will share the $24 million, with the bulk being in back pay. The group includes some of the world’s most recognized and talented athletes.
It will be all eyes on U.S. Soccer to see the steps they make to move forward with their pledge to equalize pay between the men’s and women’s national teams in all competitions, including the World Cup. “It wasn’t an easy process to get to this point for sure,” Cindy Parlow Cone, U.S. Soccer’s president told NY Times. “The most important thing here is that we are moving forward, and we are moving forward together,” she added.
While the American case dragged on for years, the conversation of equal pay moved beyond the United States and as noted by NY Times, Norway, Australia, and the Netherlands‘ soccer federations have committed to closing the pay gap between men and women. “I think it was just extremely motivating to see organizations and employers admit their wrongdoing, and us forcing their hand in making it right,” said Alex Morgan, former co-captain of the women’s national team. “The domino effect that we helped kick-start — I think we’re really proud of it.”