By Vanessa Adams | Photographer
As the hype of the men’s world cup simmers down, we are given the opportunity to shift our attention to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, taking place 8 a.m., Sept. 5 to 27.
Regardless of these being the top female soccer players in the world, these athletes are still facing misogyny. This event gives sports fans the opportunity to rally against this prejudice and celebrate the skill of these women.
Aside from just tuning in, recognizing the ongoing battle these athletes have been facing is an important step. FIFA president, Gianni Infantino’s, scrapped a $20 billion FIFA Forward Enterprise plan to sell stakes to investors. With this plan, the World Cup would sell shares to private investors by creating a whole new organization called the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE).
The conversation left out women’s teams entirely, ultimately stripping away a place for women to speak on an issue that would heavily impact them.
Many other women’s teams have spoken up about the challenges they face. All 28 members from the Women’s US National Team have sued the United States Soccer Federation due to an exceedingly large pay gap between the women’s team and staff, even though the women’s team has consistently done better in matches.
The players also cited numbers from the 2015 USSF financial report to argue that the women’s team generated around $20 million more in revenue than the men’s team that year, however the women were paid significantly less than the men earned.
A few months after the lawsuit, the US women’s team won the World Cup. The team flooded the field shouting, “Equal Pay! Equal Pay!” Following this, Co-Captain Megan Rapinoe has become a symbol for gender equality in sports.
“Men are so often paid and compensated on the potential that they show, not necessarily what they’ve done,” Rapinoe says. “And women are so often paid on what they’ve actually done — which normally I would say, we outperform what our contract was.”
By tuning in and supporting the U-20 Women’s World Cup, you’ll not just show your support for women athletes around the world, you’re also engage in a much bigger fight for equality.
These next few weeks, when you find a free hour in between classes or you’re trying to find out what show to binge next, make an effort to stream the games. In doing so, not only will you enjoy a fun match, you’ll be helping mend one of the largest issues in sports.
