House bill would make World Cup funds contingent on equal pay

Two lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation that would withhold federal funds for the 2026 World Cup until the U.S. women’s national team is paid comparable wages to the men’s team.

The Give Our Athletes Level Salaries (GOALS) Act, introduced by Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), would block all funds for the upcoming World Cup, set to be jointly hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada, until the pay structure is changed.

{mosads}“The U.S. Women’s National Team united our country and inspired the next generation of young women to pursue their dreams,” Matsui said in a statement.

“Most importantly, stars like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Rose Lavelle have used their stardom to elevate the issue of pay inequality in this country and inspire women across the nation to demand no less than what they deserve – equal pay for equal work,” she added.

The National Organization for Women (NOW) endorsed the measure. “We urge House members to join in co-sponsoring this legislation and hope that the GOALS Act is quickly adopted into law, and we look forward to working with Reps. Matsui and DeLauro on this important piece of legislation,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

The bill follows the introduction of a similar measure in the Senate by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) shortly after the U.S. women’s team won the World Cup earlier this month. Manchin said the bill was inspired by a letter from West Virginia University’s women’s soccer head coach, Nikki Izzo-Brown.

The team itself filed a lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation that accused the organization of “institutionalized gender discrimination.”

Documents indicate each player on the U.S. women’s team could receive a maximum of about $260,000 for winning the Women’s World Cup, while each player on the men’s team could receive nearly $1 million.