Three cheers for the US women's soccer team.
Five of their players are taking action against US soccer after it was revealed the World Cup Winners were paid four times less than their male counterparts.
It was revealed in 2015 that while a contract to play for the US women pays approximately £30,000, the US men's team receive £48,000.
This has provoked vehement accusations of discrimination, particularly because revenue from the women's teams amounts to £14 million more than their male counterparts.
Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and Hope Solo filed a federal wage discrimination complaint on behalf of the entire team. The complaint references figures from the federation's 2015 report, which revealed the disparity between the wages.
Sauerbrunn tweeted that the team backed the motion fully:
Lloyd, Solo, Morgan and Sauerbrunn appeared live on NBC's Today show.
"In this day and age, it's about equality," Solo said. "It's about equal rights. It's about equal pay. We're pushing for that. We believe now the time is right because we believe it's our responsibility for women's sports and specifically for women's soccer to do whatever it takes to push for equal pay and equal rights. And to be treated with respect.
To compound matters, the US national team is, by far and away, the most successful women's soccer team in history. They won the World Cup in 1991, again in 1999 and last summer they defeated Japan 5-2 in Vancouver to become the first team to triumph three times.
Jeffrey Kessler, the players' lawyer, said the women's team has been shortchanged on everything from bonuses and appearance fees to per diems.
"This is the strongest case of discrimination against women athletes in violation of law that I have ever seen," he said.
The federation has since announced that it hasn't seen the complaint and couldn't address specifics.
