The Success in Football
The United States women’s national football team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women’s football. The team is the most successful in international women’s football, winning four World Cup titles – 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019, four Olympic gold medals – 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012, and eight CONCACAF Gold Cups. It medaled in every World Cup and Olympic tournament in women’s soccer from 1991 to 2015 before being knocked out in the quarterfinal of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The eight FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments have been won by four national teams. The United States have won four times and are the current champions after winning it at the 2019 tournament in France.
After mostly being ranked No. 2 from 2003 to 2008 in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, the team was ranked No. 1 continuously from March 2008 to November 2014, the most extended consecutive top ranking of any team. Since FIFA rankings were established in 2003, it has been ranked No. 1 for 13 years; the only other team to be ranked No. 1, Germany, has been there for four and a half years. The USWNT has never been ranked lower than second.
The fight for equal pay
USWNT has been fighting for equal pay for many years in the past. On April 5, 2017, U.S. Women’s Soccer and U.S. Soccer reached a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement that would, among other things, lead to a pay increase.
After their long efforts, on February 22 this year, they won the right to equal pay in a lawsuit settlement.
The U.S. women’s national football team will finally receive equal pay with the men’s team, reaching a $24 million settlement with the United States Soccer Federation after a lengthy unequal pay lawsuit.
In a joint statement, the Federation and the U.S. women’s team said: “We are pleased to announce that, contingent on the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement, we will have resolved our longstanding dispute over equal pay and proudly stand together in a shared commitment to advancing equality in soccer.”
U.S. Soccer, the official governing body of soccer in the U.S., has committed to equal pay across the men’s and women’s soccer teams across all competitions, the FIFA Women’s World Cup included. According to CBS Sports, $22 million will be distributed among the 28 women’s soccer players currently on the team roster, and $2 million will be put towards achieving “post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women’s and girls’ soccer.”
Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who co-captained the team during their World Cup victory in 2019, and teammate Carli Lloyd were delighted to share the news when they appeared before the media.
“I think we’re going to look back on this day and say this is the moment that U.S. Soccer changed for the better,” Rapinoe said
