Rapinoe 'down with boos' for FIFA chief while equal pay is unresolved
Warning: Story contains coarse language
Megan Rapinoe's fight is far from over.
The 2019 World Cup's Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner challenged soccer federation presidents to finally act on giving women financial parity with the men's game following Sunday's trophy presentation in Lyon.
"A little public shame never hurt anybody, right? I'm down with the boos," she said of FIFA president Gianni Infantino's reception from the crowd, as reported by The Telegraph's Katie Whyatt.
Chants of "U-S-A" reverberated around the Groupama Stadium during the United States' 2-0 World Cup final win over the Netherlands on Sunday, but ESPN's Graham Hays said there was an audible chorus of "equal pay" when Infantino prepared to hand out medals.
"I think everyone is ready for this conversation to move to the next step. I think we're done with, 'Are we worth it? Should we have equal pay? Is the market the same?'" Rapinoe continued, according to Whyatt.
"Everyone's done with that. Fans are done with that. Players are done with that. In a lot of ways, I think sponsors are done with that. Let's get to the next point. What's next? How do we support women's federations and women's programmes around the world? What can FIFA do to do that? What can we do to support the leagues around the world?"
She added: "It's time to move forward to the next step."
Rapinoe's been a prominent figure in the battle for equality in soccer and is also a highly respected and impassioned voice on LGBTQ matters and other injustices in her native United States. She attracted a worldwide audience when she claimed she wouldn't visit the "fucking White House" even if the squad was invited by President Donald Trump after winning the World Cup.
"Everyone is kind of asking what's next and what we want to come of all of this," Rapinoe shared of the World Cup's lasting legacy, as quoted by Hays. "It's to stop having the conversation about equal pay and are we worth it ... What are we going to do about it? Gianni, what are we going to do about it? (U.S. Soccer president) Carlos (Cordeiro), what are we going to do about it?
"It's time to sit down with everyone and really get to work. This game has done so much for all of us. We've put so much into it. I think it's a testament to the quality on the field, and I don't think everything else is matching that. So how do we get everything to match up and continue to push this forward. Because I think at this point the argument we have been having is null and void."
FIFA will award $30 million in prize money for the Women's World Cup. $400 million was awarded at the men's version of the tournament last summer.