The U.S. Soccer Federation has added two lobbyist firms to its team in the organization’s legal battle against members of the U.S. Women’s National Team.
The firms, FBB Federal Relations and Vann Ness Feldman, will attempt to convince federal lawmakers that claims of pay disparity between the USMNT and USWNT are inaccurate.
“Due to the large number of requests we’ve received from policymakers since the Women’s World Cup, we are taking the proper steps to make sure that those leaders have accurate information and factual numbers that will inform them about the unmatched support and investment the U.S. Soccer Federation has provided as a leader in women’s football across the world,” Neil Buethe, a federation spokesman, wrote in an email to POLITICO.
In March, 28 members of the USWNT filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California alleging U.S. Soccer’s payment practices are an example of federal discrimination because women are paid less than men “for substantially equal work.”
U.S. Soccer has fought back against the notion that there is a pay disparity between the women’s national team and the men’s team.
In a letter that was released last month, federation president Carlos Cordeiro said the organization paid out $34.1 million in salary and game bonuses to the women’s squad between 2010 and 2018 as opposed to $26.4 million paid out to the men’s team.
After the release of the letter, Molly Levinson, a spokeswoman for the players in the pay disparity lawsuit, called the figures released by Cordeiro “a ruse.”
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