VOA新闻杂志--美国男女足球运动员将获得同等报酬

Male and Female¹ Soccer Players in US Will Receive Equal Pay

The organization that runs soccer in the United States says its men's and women's national soccer teams will receive equal pay. The U.S. is the first country in the world to make such a promise.

The U.S. Soccer Federation² made the announcement Wednesday. It worked with players' groups from both the men's and women's teams to reach an agreement that runs through the end of 2028.

Both groups of players had been playing in games without contracts.

The American women's soccer team is one of the best in the world. The men's soccer team has seen less success; it did not qualify³ for the World Cup in 2018. Players on the men's team, however, have always received much more money than players on the women's team.

Margaret Purce is a player for the women's team. She said the agreement will help women and girls "recognize their value rather than having to fight for it."

The final part of the agreement that needed to be worked out was how the players would be paid for competing in the World Cup. The women's team won the last two tournaments but still earned far less than the men.

The players' groups, known as unions, agreed to combine the money they received from FIFA, the soccer organization that runs the World Cup.

After the U.S. Soccer Federation takes 10 percent of the money, the rest will be divided equally among the players. Each team has 23 players.

This is important for the female players because there is still much more money in the men's game. In 2018, the last place men's team took home twice as much money compared to the winning American women's team.

Walker Zimmermann is a male player who worked on the contract. He said he was excited. "We saw it as an opportunity to be leaders in this front and join with the women's side..."

Purce said she was "grateful for this accomplishment⁴ and for all the people who came together to make it so." However, she added she believed paying men and women equally "is what you're supposed to do."

In the new contract, the women gave up salary guarantees in return for an equal share of the money brought in by U.S. Soccer.

Both male and female players will get help caring for children when they are playing. Before, that was a benefit only for the female players. Both the men and women will also get money for their retirement⁵ and share a percentage of the money that comes from ticket sales at their games.

Cindy Parlow Cone⁶ is a former member of the women's team. She is now in charge of the U.S. Soccer Federation. She said the key to reaching the agreement was permitting the male and female players to work together during the process. She said working separately was "a challenge." At one point, she thought they would not come up with a good plan.

Mark Levinstein is a lawyer for the men's group. He said the new agreement ends "more than 20 years of federation discrimination against" the female players.

Words in This Story

qualify – v. to have the right to do something

tournament- n. a series contests involving players or teams that continues for at least several days

excited- adj. enthusiastic and eager

grateful- adj. feeling or showing thanks

accomplishment- n. the successful completion of something

benefit – n. something extra given to workers by an employer in addition to their regular pay

1 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 qualify   

vt.取得资格，有资格，限定，描述；vi.取得资格，有资格

参考例句：

• I won't qualify until next year.我明年才具备资格。
• You must qualify yourself for the post.你必须使自己具备担任这一工作的资格。

4 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。