Women's football: USA agrees to mediation in pay discrimination lawsuit

Twenty-eight members of the United States' women's team filed a pay discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation.

Members of the United States women's team who filed a pay discrimination lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation have agreed to mediation, which will take place after the Women's World Cup.

A total of 28 players — including stars Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd — filed a lawsuit in federal court in March seeking equal pay, accusing the governing body of "institutionalised gender discrimination."

The federation subsequently responded to the suit, claiming the men's and women's national teams are two separate entities with "different competitions, venues and countries at different times; have different coaches, staff and leadership; have separate collective bargaining agreements; and have separate budgets that take into account the different revenue that the teams generate."

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However, an agreement has now been reached to avoid the case going to court, with mediation set to take place once the Women's World Cup is over. "While we welcome the opportunity to mediate, we are disappointed the plaintiffs' counsel felt it necessary to share this news publicly during the Women's World Cup and create any possible distraction from the team's focus on the tournament and success on the field," a federation spokesman said.

"We look forward to everyone returning their focus to the efforts on the field as we aim to win another title."

USA's defence of its World Cup crown has got off to a strong start. It hammered Thailand 13-0, setting a World Cup record, before claiming wins over Chile and Sweden in Group F to set up a last-16 tie with Spain.