US Soccer Federation deal ends six-year legal dispute over equal pay
The US Soccer Federation (USSF) has reached a $24 million agreement with US national women’s team soccer players to end a six-year legal battle over equal pay.
Under the terms of the agreement, the women players will split $22 million and the USSF will also establish a $2 million fund to benefit the players in their careers post-retirement as well as boost charitable efforts to increase women’s participation in soccer.
In September last year, the USSF had issued a statement saying that the arguments advanced by the women’s national team were “not supported by the facts or the law”.
The legal dispute began in 2016 when five players from the World Cup-winning U.S. women’s national team accused the US Soccer Federation of wage discrimination in an action filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
US Soccer Federation documents revealed that it had paid nearly $9.2 million to the law firm Latham & Watkins for legal advice related to the dispute. The women players had initially sought $66 million in damages.