IRISH SINGER Sinead O’Connor has lent her support to calls for the US Women’s Soccer Team to be paid more than the men’s.
Under the current system, the US men’s team has the capacity to earn more money than the women’s thanks to the higher win bonuses on offer to male players.
Members of the US women’s team will earn more in 2019 as a result of their World Cup triumph in France. They also play more games than the men’s team, meaning they generate more income for the federation yet remain at a disadvantage
All of which comes despite the US women’s team winning the World Cup while the US men’s team failed to even reach last year’s finals in Russia.
Arguably the most powerful moment in Sunday’s 2-0 final victory over the Netherlands came after the final whistle when a chant of “equal pay” could be heard ringing around the State de Lyon.
Star player Megan Rapinoe has already called on the governing body United States soccer to “set things right for the future” by giving the women’s team a pay rise.
The members of the U.S. women's soccer team should not be paid the same amount as the men's team. They just won the World Cup. They should be paid more. https://t.co/MG1dKY1Aaq
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) July 9, 2019
“Is it even about that anymore, or is it just about doing the right thing? The federation is in a unique position to ride this good wave of fortune.”
She’s also involved in legal action against the federation for gender discrimination, claiming the governing body not only pays them less but invests less in travel, medical care and practices facilities with female players often forced to practice on artificial turf, resulting in more injuries.
But it’s not just United States Soccer that is in need of a rethink – there is also a massive disparity in the prize money offered by FIFA to the winners of the men’s and women’s World Cups.
It’s a plight highlighted in a New York Times opinion piece and one evidently shared by O’Connor, who took to Twitter to retweet the piece calling for the women’s team to be paid more.
O’Connor will be hoping to shine a light on the perceived inequality at the heart of the sport during its moment in the limelight.
