Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

[dickey1331]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

At least the women gives us results. The men's team doesn't do anything. We supposedly have talent but they don't play like it half the time.

[Bruins]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

Grant Wahl: Do you think the U.S. women deserve to be paid equally to the U.S. men by U.S. Soccer, and if not, why not?

“I don’t want to use the word deserve in any of this,” [Sunil] Gulati said. “I’d reverse the question: Do you think revenue should matter at all in determination of compensation in a market economy? If we look at the track record of teams, a lot of different things go into the compensation for the players … Part of it is based on revenue, part of it is based on revenues that accrue from international competitions, part of it is based on incentives and the performance of the teams. All of that goes into it. We think very highly of the women’s national team, we want to compensate them fairly and we’ll sit down and work through that with them.”

As for revenue generation, Gulati added: “It is absolutely part of the equation, sure. And from everything I’ve heard with the players, they agree with that.”

A U.S. Soccer spokesperson disputed the revenue figures presented in the U.S. players’ complaint. “During the last four years, the men’s revenues have been significantly higher than the women’s national team,” the spokesperson said. “The numbers provided in the complaint at times are inaccurate, misleading or both. And looking at a single year doesn’t provide the entire picture. If you look at four or eight years cumulatively, the men’s national team revenues are almost twice that of the women’s national team.”

Asked if he could specify how much of U.S. Soccer’s sponsorship and TV income could be credited to the U.S. women and how much to the men, Gulati said: “The sponsorship and TV money are done collectively. We don’t break that down either with any of our partners or our TV partners. So that’s on a guaranteed basis. We don’t break that down in any of our accounting.” Gulati did say that TV ratings are substantially higher for the men than the women right now. “It’s not 10 or 20 or 30 or 50 percent higher, it’s a multiple right now on the men’s program versus the women’s program,” Gulati said.

http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2016/03/31/sunil-gulati-uswnt-equal-pay-wage-discrimination-lawsuit

[bad_philanthropy]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

Its obvious why the women's domestic leagues don't pay well but the national team has clearly brought in money and they are a hell of a lot better than the men's team.

They're a hell of a lot better in a relative sense within their competition—which is far inferior in terms of overall competitive balance than men's soccer. On an actual level of ability they are not on the same planet as the Men's team. This isn't a judgment or statement against the merit's of women's soccer as a sport or activity generally, just a fact.

The women's team should probably be compensated based on growth in earnings, but equal to the men's based on economic arguments I'm not so sure. If everyone is cool with a subsidy for social/cultural/institutional purposes (which I'm not personally opposed to in any philosophical way) that's a whole other thing (like Title IX).

As someone else said, the earnings for 2016, and projections for 2017 are an incomplete picture. The Women's World Cup Final featuring the U.S. drew 25 million viewers on network television (Fox). Over this period the U.S. will be playing qualifiers against mostly central American and Caribbean teams.

Compare that to the USMNT drawing 18.2 million viewers on cable (ESPN) for a group stage game in the 2014 World Cup. No WT group stage game was close to that. The men's WC Final in 2010 between Netherlands and Spain drew 24 million viewers—a game that didn't even feature the national team drew just about as many viewers as the WNT.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2014/06/23/world-cup-usmnt-portugal-most-watched-soccer-match-ever-us

Additionally, the male players wages are also partially determined by the opportunity cost of having them risk their lucrative professional careers. This cost factor simply does not exist with the female players as there is no (at this point) viable market for female club football. There is plenty of female club football, but its level of compensation is commensurate with its level of consumer interest.

TL;DR WNT should make more money commensurate with growth in their sport; Not actually close to MNT earning power or player opportunity costs to justify equal pay on purely economic basis.

[fugazi]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

They signed a CBA. Apparently they were willing to take less salary for more benefits.

Until now.

[bad_philanthropy]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

They signed a CBA. Apparently they were willing to take less salary for more benefits.

Until now.

Probably the most important point of all. When the CBA expires I support their attempt to argue against what I, and other posters have outlined in recent posts. I hope they get a bigger piece of the pie after what they've done to grow the sport during this CBA.

[ImTellinTim]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

The CBA expired in 2012 - they've been working under a Memorandum of Understanding since. I believe it's still being argued in court as to whether it is valid.

[dickey1331]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

I saw this question on Facebook and wondered what some of y'all thought.

What do you think the chances the US wins the World Cup within the next 60 years?

[jasontoddwhitt]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

Defending has been horrible against Puerto Rico. Should probably be 2-2 right now.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[Bruins]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

[ImTellinTim]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

Man, it's gonna be fun watching Pulisic turn into the best player in USMNT history.

[Hunkerdown]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

Starting 11 I would like to see in COPA:

Was very impressed with Nagbe, and especially the Pulisic/Nagbe/Johnson/Bradley combinations. And I was equally unimpressed with Jones. I'd like to see:

Wood - Dempsey
Pulisic - Nagbe - Bedoya
Bradley
Johnson - Brooks - Cameron - Yedlin
Guzan

[jasontoddwhitt]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

Man, it's gonna be fun watching Pulisic turn into the best player in USMNT history.

I would like this post if I could.

People worried about Pulisic turning into another Adu (yes, I've read comments like this).

This is not an Adu situation. He is getting appearances in the Bundesliga for a major club. He is the type of player that Klinsmann needs. I'm hoping Klinsmann gives him a start against Bolivia in the final tune up before Copa and earns himself a start.

He absolutely punked these two defenders.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8lvDWKFK0sw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[dickey1331]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

Good first half. Up 2-0.

[redsrule]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread

That Pulisic kid is pretty good...

[Bruins]

re: Official USMNT/USWNT Thread



4-3-3: Brad Guzan; DeAndre Yedlin, Geoff Cameron, John Brooks, Fabian Johnson; Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones; Gyasi Zardes, Clint Dempsey, Bobby Wood