The USWNT Players Association provided an update into the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations between the national team players and the U.S. Soccer Federation.
While the Players Association called recent meetings “productive,” negotiations will continue into April. The two sides previously had set a deadline of March 31 to get a deal done.
Statment re: status of CBA negotiations with March 31, 2022 expiration of current agreement pic.twitter.com/SQvE51PgxV— USWNT Players (@USWNTPlayers) March 30, 2022
Statment re: status of CBA negotiations with March 31, 2022 expiration of current agreement pic.twitter.com/SQvE51PgxV
According to The Athletic’s Meg Linehan, the current CBA will not be extended, as it has been in the past; instead, the players will continue to play under the expired terms.
“The Players Association is excited to watch the Players take the field for the two April friendlies,” the PA said in its statement. “We remain hopeful that the parties can reach the right agreement and encourage US Soccer to continue to progress into a new era.”
Equalizer Soccer’s Jeff Kassouf reported that FIFA prize money is still a holdup in negotiations. However, a statement from US Soccer states that the federation’s leadership feels that they are “closer to reaching agreements on these issues than ever before.”
“To ensure adequate time to reach a fair and equitable agreement, the parties have mutually agreed to continue negotiations into April, with the goal of reaching an agreement as soon as possible,” US Soccer said in its statement.
Notably, the equal pay settlement between the Federation and the players is contingent upon the two sides ratifying a new CBA.
The USWNT announced yesterday the roster for its upcoming April friendlies against Uzbekistan.