US Soccer President asks men & women's team to divide FIFA World Cup prize money equally

US Soccer Federation president Cindy Parlow Cone has urged the men's national team to reallocate a portion of FIFA's World Cup prize money to the federation for the women's team. Affirming US Soccer's commitment to equal pay, Cindy Parlow Cone on Friday wrote an open letter to unions of the women's and men's national teams asking them to agree to equalize the FIFA's World Cup.

In the letter, Cone said, "As a former player, I want to once again make it clear that I, along with all of U.S. Soccer, am 100% committed to equal pay for our national team players. We remain steadfast in our dedication to ensuring equal pay for our national team." 

"We're focused on demonstrating this commitment through action. As a federation, we would much rather negotiate a single collective bargaining agreement with both the men's and women's teams, but since neither team has agreed to take that approach, we are moving forward separately with each Players Association," she added. 

The letter comes amid the row over the prize pot, which the USSF has claimed is 'out of its control' given that it is handled by FIFA. On the other hand, USWNT players have alleged that FIFA doesn't control the money for games such as World Cup qualifying.

US soccer president admits 'massive discrepancy'

Admitting the 'massive discrepancy' in pay, the US soccer president stated that disparity in the FIFA World Cup prize money was by far the 'most challenging' issue that the federation faced. "FIFA alone controls those funds, and U.S. Soccer is legally obligated to distribute those funds based on our current negotiated collective bargaining agreements with the men's and women's teams," she said. 

"Within this challenge, we see an opportunity to create change. To capitalize on that opportunity, we need our men's and women's national teams to come together and re-think how we've done things in the past. To that end, we have invited the players and both Players Associations to join U.S. Soccer in negotiating a solution together that equalizes World Cup prize money between the USMNT and USWNT," she wrote.

USWNT rejects 'claims', calls letter a 'publicity stunt'

Despite the US Soccer President's olive branch to USWNT players, her claims in the letter have been dubbed as false. Issuing a counter-statement, USWNT Players Association said 'actions were needed more than words.' They have, however, asserted that they will remain committed to working with all parties for a fair deal that lifts all players.

"It is simply false that in past negotiations the Federation offered the Women's National Team the 'exact same contract.' If the USSF was serious about equal pay, they would not engage in publicity stunts which fall short of addressing our issues," Becca Roux, executive director of the USWNT Players Association, said in a statement.

(With Agency Inputs)