The Importance Of The 2023 Women’s World Cup For The USWNT

Two weeks ago, The U.S. men’s and women’s national soccer teams agreed on a labor deal that equalizes both salaries and bonuses, making the United States the first country to achieve equal pay for its men’s and women’s teams.

“To finally get to the point where on every economic term it’s equal pay, I am just really proud,” USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone said.

It’s an understatement to say this was long overdue, but we’ve finally reached this point. Between both squads, World Cup bonuses from FIFA will be pooled and spilt equally between the two squads. FIFA doesn’t evenly distribute prize money for the Women’s and Men’s World Cup, offering $440 million for men in prize money, and $60 million for women.

“It’s going to be game-changing for what women’s football looks like in general,” women’s national team forward Margaret Purce said. “It’s historic, and I think it’s going to trigger a lot of other things in the sport, not just in the United States but globally.”

The USMNT will take a pay cut, of course creating some frustration (and understanding), but the Men can only blame themselves. The only World Cup honor the men hold is a third-place spot in 1930, the first World Cup ever. The men have recently garnered success in the CONCACAF, recently winning the 2021 Gold Cup over rival, Mexico.

The women, on the other hand, have been one of the most dominant squads in Women’s sports.

Since the inaugural Women’s Cup in 1991, the Stars and Stripes have never missed a tournament, with the most titles out of any country (4). You can also include the four Olympic gold medals and 8 Gold Cups as supporting details for their dominance. Besides Brazil’s and Germany’s Men’s national team, no other national squad has dominated more than the USWNT in the sport of soccer.

I actually think the Women should be paid more than the men because of their dominance but until FIFA adds more to the prize money pool, it may be a while before we see that unprecedented pay structure.

This is why the 2023 Women’s World Cup is very important.

As Pruce stated, the state of Women’s soccer is effectively about to change. Since its inception, the Women’s World Cup has grown tremendously. 14.3 million U.S viewers watched the USWNT defeat the Netherlands in the 2019 World Cup Final, 22% more than the Men’s match in 2018. That game was also broadcasted the same time as the Gold Cup and Copa America Final matches, another mishap by FIFA.

Fox currently holds exclusive rights to the FIFA World Cup through 2026, which includes the women’s World Cup, as well as the under-20 and under-17 national team competitions. The record-breaking viewership combined with the new USNT CBA could invite the idea of the Women’s World Cup tv rights being sold separately.

Sky Sports has already created a path, buying TV rights for the Barclays Women’s Super League in England. This marked a new era for English Women’s soccer, giving each team portions of the revenue, along with distributing income to clubs in the second tier, the FA Women’s Championship, to assist with development.

The USWNT has the opportunity to be the first country, men or women, to win three straight World Cups, equaling 12-years of dominance. Even without a historical run, the Women’s World Cup with increased viewership could open doors for other national leagues such as the NWSL in North America.

NWSL partnership with CBS Sports and Twitch(worth $4.5 million) will end in 2023, just in time for renegotiations. If the USWNT can complete the three-peat, 21 of the 22 players will play their professional soccer in the NWSL.

Media and TV rights drive the sports world, which makes this an important factor to grow the game and personal brands of Women’s soccer. Establishing this new pay structure a year before the World Cup in New Zealand, marketing opportunities should be plentiful.