Women’s Soccer On the Offensive

With the World Cup around the corner, the women’s national soccer team has recently filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). Complaints for more equality between the men’s team and the women’s team date back to 2016. With no actions from the Federation, the women’s team are seeking a resolution by suing.

In an interview with the “Orlando Sentinel,” previous world cup winner Alex Morgan stressed the importance of the “fight” going beyond women’s soccer.

“This isn’t just about us; it’s about women in all industries,” Morgan said. “Women fight for equality every single day. Our hope is that we not only set up ourselves, we set up the next generation as well.”

CNN Business reported that the women’s national team made $2 million for winning the World Cup in 2015. On the other hand, the men’s team made a reported $9 million after finishing in 11th place in 2014. Junior Katherine Zamora said that she stands with the women’s team, and she believes that equality must be reached.

“We live in a generation that’s filled with these types of things, like kids who don’t work hard but still get a trophy,” Zamora said. “In reality, the women’s soccer [team] got ripped off.”

According to an article by Fox Sports, the president of the USSF, Carlos Cordeiro, responded to the lawsuit by emphasizing that reaching common ground is well on its way.

“I want to assure everyone in our soccer family that U.S. Soccer and its women’s national team players remain partners with shared goals and aspirations,” Cordeiro said. “For that reason, we are very optimistic as to what is possible, and our commitment to reaching a common ground is absolute.”