Van Hollen, Cardin Back Bill to Require Equal Pay for U.S. Soccer Teams
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) and
nearly a dozen of their colleagues introduced the Give Our Athletes Level
Salaries (GOALS) Act, which would require the U.S. Soccer Federation to
agree to providing equitable pay to both the women’s and men’s national teams
in order to receive federal funds related to the 2026 World Cup.
“Our
athletes deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and they also deserve
to be appropriately compensated for their achievements — no matter their
gender,” said Senator Van Hollen. “We must heed the call
of our national team players to end gender pay inequities once and for
all, which is why I support this bill and will continue working in Congress to
close the gender pay gap.”
“The
U.S. Women’s Soccer team are reigning champions on the field, but also
champions in leading the national conversation on equal pay,” said Senator
Cardin. “I am proud to support the GOALS Act to close the inexcusable pay
gap between female and male athletes, bolstering our collective efforts on
gender equity and equality.”
While
federal funds are not directly appropriated toward U.S. Soccer, there are a
variety of ways that federal funding will likely be used by U.S. Soccer and its
affiliates, including FIFA and CONCACAF, during the next World Cup in 2026,
which will be hosted in part by in the United States. This would include any
and all funds provided to host cities; participating local and state
organizations; the U.S. Soccer Federation, Confederation of North, Central
American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), and Fédération
Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Senators
Van Hollen and Cardin introduced the legislation with Senators Joe Manchin
(D-W.Va.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey
(D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal
(D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Catherine
Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).
Background
information on the GOALS Act can be found
here.
Bill
text can be found
here.