The US Soccer Federation has reached milestone agreements to pay its men's and women's teams equally, making the American national governing body the first in the sport to promise both sexes matching money.
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The federation on Wednesday announced separate collective bargaining agreements through December 2028 with the unions for both national teams, ending years of often acrimonious negotiations.
The deals grew partly out of a push by players on the more successful women's team, including stars like Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, who were at the forefront of the gender equity fight while leading the team to a Women's World Cup title in 2019.
The struggle became so much a part of the team's story that chants of "Equal pay! Equal pay!" rose from the crowd as US players celebrated winning the title in France.
Morgan and Rapinoe could still be beneficiaries of the deal, though the next Women's World Cup is in 2023 and the make-up of the team will have changed by then.
The biggest sticking point had been World Cup prize money, which is based on how far a team advances in the tournament.
While the US women have been successful on the international stage with back-to-back World Cup titles, differences in FIFA prize money meant they took home far less than the men's winners.
American women received a $US110,000 ($A158,000) bonus for winning the 2019 World Cup. The US men would have received $US407,000 ($A585,000) had they won the year earlier.
The unions agreed to pool FIFA's payments for the men's World Cup later this year and next year's Women's World Cup, as well as for the 2026 and 2027 tournaments.
Each player will get matching game appearance fees in what the USSF said makes it the first federation to pool FIFA prize money in this manner.
Australian Associated Press
