Sen. Joe Manchin Files Bill Requiring Equal Pay for Women’s Soccer

West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin has filed a bill that would force the U.S. Soccer Federation to pay female players the same as male players.

Only days after the U.S. Women’s National Team went out of its way to push the political theme of “equal pay” during its 2019 Women’s World Cup win, Manchin filed a bill that would withhold federal funding from the 2026 World Cup until the U.S. Soccer Federation alters its pay scale, ESPN reports.

“No federal funds may be appropriated or otherwise made available to provide support for the 2026 World Cup,” Manchin’s bill reads, “including support for a host city, a participating State or local agency, the United States Soccer Federation, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), or the Federation de Football Association (FIFA), until the date on which the United States Soccer Federation agrees to provide equitable pay.

“The clear unequitable pay between the U.S. men’s and women’s soccer teams is unacceptable, and I’m glad the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team latest victory is causing public outcry,” Manchin said in a Tuesday statement. “They are the best in the world and deserve to be paid accordingly.”

The West Virginia Democrat added that he introduced the bill after speaking with West Virginia University women’s soccer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown, who supports the concept of equal pay.

Last March, several U.S. Women’s players filed a federal class-action lawsuit against U.S. soccer to force equal pay.

As Breitbart Sports reported, the issue is often portrayed as a simple matter of sexism. However, the true reasons underlying the disparity in pay is economic. The fact is, the men’s team brings in many times more fans and revenue than the women.

In 2010, for example, the Women’s World Cup brought in $73 million in revenue. But that same year the Men’s World Cup earned an incredible $4 billion, according to NBC Sports.

Men’s soccer also has by far many more viewers than women’s soccer.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.