Watch the video as the women’s soccer players sue Adidas for discrimination.
Women will receive the same performance bonus as their male counterparts at the World Cup this year, Adidas announced on Friday.
“We believe in inspiring and enabling the next generation of female athletes, creators, and leaders through breaking barriers,” said Eric Liedtke, Adidas’ head of global brands. “Today we are announcing that all Adidas athletes on the winning 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup team will receive the same performance bonus payout as their male peers.”
Not a single female athlete made Forbes’ 2018 list of the 100 highest-paid female athletes, including Serena Williams. The bulk of the athletes’ earnings came from endorsements deals, with only exceptions in women’s sport, like Maria Sharapova and Williams, able to command huge sponsorship sums.
The announcement was made hours after it emerged that all 28 players of the US women’s national team are suing the US Soccer Federation for “institutionalized gender discrimination”, demanding pay and treatment equal to the men’s team. US Women have won the World Cup three times, while the men failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
The lawsuit says: “Despite the fact that these female and male players are called upon to perform the same job responsibilities on their teams and participate in international competitions for their single common employer, the USSF, the female players have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts.”
Meanwhile, England’s Izzy Christiansen has undergone successful surgery on an ankle injury sustained in England’s she believes Cup win over Japan last Tuesday.
Following a further assessment, the Lyon midfielder had an operation on Friday afternoon and will now begin a rehabilitation programme as she aims to be fit for this summer’s World Cup finals.
While the men’s soccer team failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia last year, the U.S. women’s team will be defending their 2015 crown in France in June.
Recommended Video!
“Selfish Neighbor Keeps Blocking A Woman’s Driveway. ‘Tough’ Man Gives Them A Befitting Reply”