Talks over U.S. women’s soccer pay break down

A jury will likely end up deciding the dispute over pay differences between the U.S. men’s and women’s soccer teams. Mediation talks between the women’s national team and the U.S. Soccer Federation ended this week, with the federation accusing the players’ counsel of “an aggressive and ultimately unproductive approach.”

What’s the problem? Players on the 2019 World Cup champion women’s team sued U.S. Soccer in March for paying them less than their counterparts on the men’s team. The federation said separate unions bargained for pay and benefits for the two teams and are not comparable. Both sides agreed to mediate the matter once the Women’s World Cup ended last month in France, where the U.S. team won its fourth title. Federation President Carlos Cordeiro wrote in a letter to U.S. Soccer members in July that the women’s team received more compensation than the men’s in the form of salary, benefits, and bonuses between 2010 and 2018.

Dig deeper: Read Lynde Langdon’s report in Muse on the push for equal pay by team members after they won the World Cup.