'Historic' equal pay deal for US men and women soccer teams

WASHINGTON, May 18 (AFP): The US men's and women's national soccer teams will receive equal pay under a "historic" agreement announced by the US Soccer Federation on Wednesday, following years of pressure from female national players.

The move makes the federation the first in the world to equalise World Cup prize money awarded to men's and women's teams, it said.

"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 February, the US national women's team won a $24 million payout and a promise of equal pay in a landmark settlement with US Soccer, that was contingent on the new collective bargaining agreement.

The question of World Cup prize money had formed a prominent part of the lawsuit filed by the women's team in 2019, which accused the federation of "stubbornly refusing" to pay its men and women's players equally.