CHICAGO (Aug. 26, 2022) – The U.S. Soccer Federation, the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) and the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association (USNSTPA) will officially sign historic new Collective Bargaining Agreements on the field immediately following the USWNT’s match against Nigeria at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 6.
The announcement that the new CBAs will be signed after the Sept. 6 match comes on Women’s Equality Day. At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-New York), in 1973, the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.” The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality.
On May 18 of this year, U.S. Soccer, the USWNTPA, and the USNSTPA announced that they had agreed to the terms of historic, first-of-their-kind Collective Bargaining Agreements that achieved equal pay and set the global standard moving forward in international soccer.
Now that the parties’ agreements on equal pay and working conditions have been set forth in comprehensive contracts, the CBAs will be signed post-game on the field on Sept. 6 by USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone, USWNTPA officers Becky Sauerbrunn, Crystal Dunn, Samantha Mewis and Becca Roux, and representatives of the USNSTPA. Several members of the United States Congress and other dignitaries are expected to attend the historic event.
The two CBAs, which run through 2028, achieve equal pay through identical economic terms. These economic terms include identical compensation for all competitions, including the FIFA World Cup, and the introduction of the same commercial revenue sharing mechanism for both teams. The agreements will ensure that U.S. Soccer’s Women’s National Team (USWNT) and Men’s National Team (USMNT) players remain among the highest paid in the world.
Under these agreements, U.S. Soccer is the first Federation in the world to equalize FIFA World Cup prize money awarded to the men’s and women’s players of its senior national teams for participation in their respective World Cups.