User:Michaeld09/Gender pay gap in sports

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While this topic aims to address the gender pay gap in sports, the main idea of this article is to address the gender pay gap in American soccer. On the original Wikipedia article, there is not that much information regarding the gender pay gap in soccer. The goal here is to expand upon why the gender pay gap in soccer is large and provide facts and numbers to help inform audiences. This article's purpose is to fill the gap and add more information to the section of the gender pay gap in soccer while looking at the numbers and facts surrounding the recent women's and men's 2018 and 2019 World Cup teams while also tying in other information from recent memory.

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There was no women's team until 1972. In 1972, President Nixon signed Title IX. This was the starting point for the women’s team. In 1985, the first official women’s team was created and in 1991, just six years later, the team qualified for the World Cup and was competing at the highest level in the world. U.S. Soccer received $9 million when the U.S. Men advanced to the round of sixteen in the 2014 tournament. U.S. Soccer then received another $1.5 million on top of that for participating in the round. In the lead-up to the 1991 Women’s World Cup, each player was given $10 a day for room and board. During the men’s 1990 World Cup, they received $25 per day. After winning the 1991 World Cup, arguably the most competitive and toughest competition to win in the world, every player on the USWNT roster received a $500 check, which translates to $945 dollars today.

For their mere participation in the World Cup in 1990, every Men’s Team player was granted a hefty bonus. Every player on the United States Men’s National Team received a $10,000 bonus from U.S. Soccer. The men lost all three group stage games in the tournament as well, finishing with a negative six goal differential. In 2001, the USWNT came together and formed the United States Women’s National Team Players Association. Since 2001, all financial packages affiliated with U.S. Soccer has been negotiated by means of the Association. In 1996, the male players unionized and created the United States National Soccer Team Players Association. Since its debut in 1996, the men have discussed and passed three different agreements with U.S. Soccer.

On March 8, 2019, there was an act signed by twenty-eight members of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team. This act was called the Equal Pay Act and it was filed against the United States Soccer Federation. The United States Men’s National Team do not make much money if they do not participate and play in competitions, but they do receive significantly more money in their bonuses’ than women.

For comparison reasons, let's put together the financial packages that were set in place during the Men’s 2018 World Cup in Russia and the Women’s World Cup in 2019 that took place in France. There are four types of matches and each team is paid differently for what type of match they take part in as well as the result of that match. There are friendly competitions, a competition in which the outcome of the game has no effect on future tournaments and will not count against a team who wants to qualify for something. Next are the qualifiers, games in which teams wish to build the best records so that they may qualify for a major tournament, such as the World Cup. The next type of games are played in an actual tournament and includes all games in that tournament. The last type of games are considered “victory” games, matches a team would play after they just won a major tournament.

During the time of the 2018 and 2019 World Cups, these compensation packages were put into place. Leading up to the World Cups, both the men and women teams would earn a specific amount of money based on how a game went. For every victory in a World Cup qualification game, the men would receive $18,125 whereas the women would receive $3,000. For a loss, the men would receive $5,000 and the women nothing. If the men had qualified for the World Cup in 2018, which they did not after losing to Trinidad and Tobago in a game they needed to win, each rostered player would have received $108,695. After qualifying for the 2019 World Cup in France, the top women players received $37,500 with the rest of the rostered players receiving less.

For each team, there is a set twenty-three player roster. Each male player received $68,750 if they were selected to that roster. Each female player received just $37,500 if they were selected. The men did not play any games in the 2018 World Cup in France but if they did qualify, they would have received $6,875 for each game no matter the result of the contest. The women did not receive anything per game and they won the 2019 World Cup. For winning the World Cup in 2019, each woman received $110,000. On the other hand, the men would have received $407,607 each.