Carli Lloyd, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe—who led the U.S. women’s national team to a World Cup title last year—are alleging that the sport’s governing body vastly underpays its female players even as they continue to outperform the men in international competition.
The complaint, which The New York Times says will be filed on Thursday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, suggests that it is the successful women’s national team, not the men’s team, that is the largest source of revenue for the U.S Soccer Federation. The women are currently the defending Olympic gold medalists and World Cup champions.
Fans here caused an uproar last year after the women’s team defeated Japan in the World Cup finals and earned just $2 million in prize money. That figure was $33 million less than what Germany earned for winning the men’s tournament, and $7 million less than what the U.S. men’s team earned, even though they lost in the Round of 16.