The agreement was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California last week, and it’s a partial victory for the U.S. women’s soccer team that was a World Cup champion last year. They’ll see improvement in hotel accommodations, travel, venues, and staffing, which will make them equal in that aspect to the U.S. men’s soccer team.
A Partial Victory for the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team
One of the most important changes that were proposed in the settlement was a requirement that all the soccer games would be played on grass versus artificial surfaces. This is a condition that the men’s team hardly faces.
The U.S. Soccer Federation has agreed to provide an equal number of chartered flights for both the women’s and men’s teams and will offer comparable hotel accommodations for both teams.
Just the First Step
U.S. Soccer President, Cindy Parlow Cone said that agreeing on these working conditions was only the first step. She’s referring to the lawsuit that is still being disputed regarding equal pay. Molly Levinson, who is a spokesperson for the female soccer players commented that they’re more committed now than ever to achieve equal pay as they all legally deserve it. The team wants to focus on leaving the game of soccer in a better place for future generations of women that will play for the USWNT and the country.
They will be filing an appeal to the Court’s decision as they rejected the equal pay claim for the U.S. women’s soccer team back in May. Judge R. Gary Klausner pointed out differences regarding the structure of the women’s and men’s contracts and why they shouldn’t be paid equally.