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A few days after the US women's football team won its fourth World Cup, a US Senator Tuesday introduced a bill banning the use of federal funds for the 2026 Men's World Cup until that the American Football Federation agrees to give equal pay to the women's and men's teams. .
The bill, written by Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, would ban the use of federal funds that would otherwise be allocated to support host cities, local and national organizations, American football, CONCACAF and of FIFA when the World Cup in 2026.
"The clearly unfair pay between the US and women's football teams is unacceptable and I am pleased that the last victory of the US women's football team is causing a public outcry," Manchin said in a statement. "They are the best in the world and deserve to be paid accordingly."
The bill comes as American players continue to fight for equal pay and investment in women's football. In March, 28 players sued the federation for discrimination, accusing the governing body of having exchanged their working conditions and remuneration with the men's team, which had not qualified for Men's World Cup last year.
The question was a constant story throughout this year's World Cup. Shortly after the US won its fourth title Sunday, the crowd at the championship game in Lyon, France, broke into slogans "equal pay." The crowd also whistled later when FIFA President Gianni Infantino arrived on the pitch to present the trophy.
US Soccer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News.
Manchin said that he had decided to introduce the bill after receiving a letter from Nikki Izzo-Brown, head coach of the women's football team at the University of West Virginia, calling the senator to support the struggle of American women for equal pay.
Throughout the tournament, dozens of legislators and presidential candidates expressed support for the women's team, saying that players should receive the same pay, if not more, than men.
"I think that they should definitely [receive] equal pay for equal work. And since they win and that they won, that they have more goals and more viewers, they should really be paid not just as much as men, but maybe more Gillibrand said in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
Last week, more than 50 congressional members wrote a letter to the president of the US Soccer asking the federation to address inequities in compensation, advertising and investment for women's football.
"The inequalities that these women defenders faced as members of the USWNT are indefensible," the letter said, adding that according to many media reports, "there is clear and institutionalized gender discrimination within the Federation."
While the women's and men's teams are paid through different salary structures (women have a fixed salary while men are only paid if they play), women claim that the total remuneration of the men's team is higher. important because of the higher premiums that men receive. much bigger.
For example, the March complaint states that if each team played and won 20 friendlies in one year, the players would earn a maximum of $ 99,000, while men would earn an average of $ 263,320.
Meanwhile, the women's team has generated more revenue than men in recent years. Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that from 2016 to 2018, women's games had generated revenues of $ 50.8 million, against $ 49.9 million for men.
The players and the federation agreed to bring the complaint to mediation.
When asked if their success at the World Cup was changing the lawsuit, the advance and co-captain Megan Rapinoe said in an interview with The Guardian: "Well, that's not it. not good for them, is not it, "referring to the federation.
"We hesitated to say that and put a lot of pressure on ourselves, because we think we have a case, no matter the problem," said Rapinoe. "But that puts him out of the water. Is it even about it, or is it just doing the right thing? The federation is in a unique position to ride this good wave of fortune. "
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