US men's and women's teams strike equal pay deal, US Soccer says

THE United States Soccer Federation said on Wednesday (Mat 18) it had reached collective bargaining agreements with its men's and women's soccer teams that achieve equal pay for players and create a mechanism for sharing prize money, including from the World Cup.

Under the agreements, which run through 2028, US Soccer becomes the first Federation in the world to equalise Fifa World Cup prize money awarded to both women's and men's teams for participation in their respective World Cups.

"This is a truly historic moment. These agreements have changed the game forever here in the United States and have the potential to change the game around the world," said US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone in a statement on the federation's website.

The economic terms of the bargaining agreements include introduction of the same commercial revenue sharing mechanism for both teams.

The agreements also improve player health and safety, data privacy and the need to balance responsibilities to both club and country, the federation said. REUTERS