The U.S Soccer Federation has reached an agreement to pay its men's and women's football players equally.
The milestone announcement marks the first time a national governing body has promised to give both sexes equal money, as reported by Associated Press.
According to The Athletic, the new rules mean:
- Equal pay for every game played, from friendlies to World Cups and other competitions
- Equal bonuses for game outcome and World Cup participation
- Equal pay for every day in camp
- Equal split of World Cup prize money, with the two teams pooling and then dividing their prize totals from the 2022 and 2023 tournaments, and 2026 and 2027 competitions
- Equal split of a new commercial revenue share program with U.S. Soccer
- Equal rate for tickets sold for games controlled by U.S. Soccer
U.S. forward Margaret Purce said: "I feel a lot of pride for the girls who are going to see this growing up, and recognise their value rather than having to fight for it.
"However, my dad always told me that you don’t get rewarded for doing what you’re supposed to do — and paying men and women equally is what you’re supposed to do.
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"So I’m not giving out any gold stars, but I’m grateful for this accomplishment and for all the people who came together to make it so."
Walker Zimmerman, a defender who is part of the U.S. National Team Players Association leadership group added: "We saw it as an opportunity, an opportunity to be leaders in this front and join in with the women’s side and U.S. Soccer.
"So we’re just excited that this is how we were able to get the deal done."
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Anish Vij