2017 National Women’s Soccer League Championship Game
Credit: © Andrew Bershaw, Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

March is Women’s History Month, an annual observance of women’s achievements and contributions to society. This month, Behind the Headlines will feature woman pioneers in a variety of areas.

After a six-year battle, the United States women’s soccer team and U.S. Soccer have reached a settlement. On Feb. 22, 2022, the two sides announced the deal. The settlement requires U.S. Soccer to pay $24 million to the athletes and pledge to equalize pay for women’s and men’s soccer. The battle began when Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Hope Solo filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against U.S. Soccer in 2016. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a United States government agency. It enforces laws that prohibit job discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. The 5 women claimed they earned 40 percent of what the players on the men’s national team were paid, even though the women were ranked higher internationally. They also argued that their bonuses, transportation, and meal money for training camps were inferior to that of the men’s soccer team.

U.S. forward Alex Morgan drives the ball in the FIFA Women’s World Cup opening group stage match against Thailand at the Stade Auguste-Delaune in Reims, France, on June 11, 2019. Morgan scored five times in the 13-0 U.S. win.
Credit: © Feel Photo/Shutterstock

The soccer players are not the only playmakers who have fought for equal pay for women. In the United States in the 1960’s, the women’s movement discovered discrimination in the workplace, where women received lower pay and fewer promotions than men. Several laws passed during the 1960′s and 1970′s aimed at providing equal rights for women. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires equal pay for men and women doing the same work. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits job discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as on the basis of color, race, national origin, and religion. These changes helped pave the way for the soccer players.

The United States women’s soccer team has scored big over the years. They won the Women’s World Cup titles in 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019. They have also brought home gold from the Olympic Games in 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012. The team has been ranked number one by FIFA  since 2015. FIFA is the sport of soccer’s world governing body. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world.

In 2019, 28 U.S. women’s soccer players added to the pressure by filing a gender discrimination lawsuit. They withdrew their original complaint with the EEOC. The women fought to get equal pay and benefits but were defeated in April 2020. However, the players continued to fight by appealing the ruling. The new president of U.S. Soccer, a woman, hinted that the organization would make a deal with the women’s soccer team.

Throughout the years, the soccer players have inspired other athletes to speak up and ask for equal pay and treatment, including professional ice hockey and basketball players. Many other women athletes will be following their steps after successfully U.S. women’s soccer took down U.S. Soccer. The women’s team can now focus on the game, as they take on teams from around the world just in time for Women’s History Month this March.

July 10, 2019

On Sunday, July 7, at the Stade de Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France, the United States Women’s National Team defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer championship. It was the fourth world title for the U.S. women, who first won the tournament in 1991, the year it was first held. For the Netherlands, it was the team’s first trip to the World Cup final. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world. FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Held every four years, the Women’s World Cup is the world’s most important and prestigious women’s soccer tournament.

Members of the United States Women’s National Team celebrate winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 7, 2019, at the Stade de Lyon in France. Credit: © Philippe Desmazes, AFP/Getty Images

The United States, the defending champions, entered the 2019 World Cup as heavy favorites. The team thumped Thailand to open the group stage, 13-0—the largest winning margin in World Cup history (men or women). They then took down Chile, Sweden, and Spain on their way to the quarterfinals, where the U.S. women eliminated host France, 2-1. A tough 2-1 semifinal victory over England sent the Americans to the title match against the Netherlands. The Dutch women, playing in the team’s second World Cup, also rolled through the tournament undefeated. The Oranje (Orange) allowed just three total goals in their wins over New Zealand, Cameroon, Canada, Japan, Italy, and Sweden before reaching La Grande Finale in suburban Lyon.

Before 57,900 fans crammed into the Stade de Lyon, the Dutch did what no other team had yet accomplished: they held the vaunted U.S. offense scoreless in the first half (45 minutes of play). A penalty in the 58th minute, however, gave U.S. star Megan Rapinoe the opportunity to break a 0-0 tie. Sporting a pinkish-purple mop of normally blonde hair, the veteran midfielder calmly stuck home a penalty kick to give the Americans a 1-0 advantage at the 61-minute mark. Eight minutes later, U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle drilled a left-footed strike into the net for what turned out to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Emotions built on the U.S. sideline as the clock steadily counted toward 90, and after the final whistle blew, the U.S. women rushed the field for a joyous celebration.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in nine stadiums in various French cities. The 24 entrants included 4 teams making their Women’s World Cup debuts: Chile, Jamaica, Scotland, and South Africa. The opening group stage of the World Cup divided the entrants into six groups of four. The top two teams of each group advanced after playing the other three teams in their group, as did the four best third-place teams. The round of 16 then trimmed the field to 8, and the quarterfinals reduced the tournament to a final 4. The United States downed England in the semifinals, and the Netherlands beat Sweden. The day before the United States took the final, Sweden beat England 2-1 in the anticlimactic battle for third place. All four semifinalists received automatic bids to the women’s soccer tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan.

U.S. manager Jill Ellis, who also led the 2015 championship squad, became the first head coach to win two Women’s World Cup titles. The U.S. team set a record by scoring 26 goals during the tournament. Rapinoe earned the Golden Boot Award as the leading goal scorer (6), and she was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Sari van Veenendaal of the Netherlands earned the Golden Glove Award as the World Cup’s top goalkeeper. The U.S. Women’s National Team returned home to cheers and numerous honors, including a ticker tape parade down a section of Broadway in New York City known as the “Canyon of Heroes.”

Sunday, July 7, was a busy soccer day elsewhere in the world, too. Shortly after the end of the Women’s World Cup, the Brazilian national men’s team defeated Peru 3-1 to win the Copa América, the championship of South American soccer, at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. That night, at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Mexican national men’s team beat the United States 1-0 to win the Gold Cup, the championship of Caribbean, Central American, and North American soccer.

July 8, 2015

When a city’s team wins a national championship, the city holds a local parade or rally for the team and its members. But what happens when a national team wins a world championship—and those champs are women? On Friday, July 10th, New York City will host a rare ticker-tape parade for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, the winners of the 2015 FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) women’s World Cup. The parade breaks with decades of precedent to bestow a rare honor upon a group that competes outside the metropolitan area. The parade also marks the first time in more than 50 years that the honor will be bestowed upon female athletes. The parade route will go along Broadway and end at New York City Hall where a special program will be held. Manhattan borough president Gale A. Brewer, who led the push for the parade with a letter to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, said “this team will turn the Canyon of Heroes [parade route] into the Canyon of Heroines.”

The United States Women’s National Team celebrates with the trophy after they beat Japan 5-2 in the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer championship in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 5, 2015. Credit: © Elaine Thompson, AP Photo

The parade will honor the U.S. women after their historic run in this year’s World Cup. The team ran through the tournament allowing only one goal all the way up to the final game. On Sunday, July 5th, the U.S. women went on top fast, scoring four times in the first 16 minutes against Japan. They went on to finish the championship game 5-2. The victory is the third World Cup title for the U.S. women, the only nation to achieve that feat.

Fans held television viewing parties across the United States to watch the tournament. The final match was seen by a record 26.7 million in the United States—the most viewed soccer game in the history of American television.

Other World Book articles: 

• Morgan, Alex
• Solo, Hope
• Sports
• Wambach, Abby
  
• Soccer (1999: A Back in Time article)
• Sports (1999: A Back in Time article)
• Soccer (2011: A Back in Time article)