1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Speaker 1: It's nothing new that women in sport are treated unequally 2 00:00:05,040 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: and face an uphill battle against sexism. But the stunning 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,720 Speaker 1: success of the U s women's soccer team offered FIFA 4 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: a roadmap to a better way of doing business, a 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:18,439 Speaker 1: cleaner way, a less corrupt way, a more fair way. 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: They didn't embrace it, but women's soccer still offers FIFA 7 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: a chance to crow out of its dark past, the 8 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: hope for a better tomorrow. That's what today's story is 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:41,440 Speaker 1: all about. I'm Connor Powell. This is Episode eleven Equal Footing. 10 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: In May of two thousand and thirteen, the lords of 11 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,639 Speaker 1: Soccer gathered on the remote island nation of Mauritius off 12 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: the coast of Africa for the sixty third FIFA Congress. 13 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: The meeting opened with a sixteen minute long series of 14 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: dazzling and colorful choreographed international music performances befitting of the 15 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: most ambitious of Broadway shows. Then set Bladder was called 16 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: upon to officially open the meeting. Gives you a great 17 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: pleasure and on a ladies and gentlemen, to now call 18 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: upon the president of the organization that has been referred 19 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: to as the guardian of our most precious game. The 20 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,040 Speaker 1: presidents of FIFA Joseph S. Blatter to officially welcome all 21 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: of us yeah around of applause, describing set Bladder at 22 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,959 Speaker 1: that moment as the guardian of soccer was ironic at best. 23 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to the delegates to these sixty third Congress of FIFA. 24 00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: On st bladders watch, FIFA had stumbled from scandal to scandal, 25 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: and as president, Bladder was awfully close to the center 26 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: of many of the accusations. As those bosses gathered in Mauritius, 27 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: the stink of corruption had only grown stronger. In recent years. 28 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: Bladder and FIFA felt grown in pressure to institute reforms 29 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: or you know, at least look like they were. So. 30 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,240 Speaker 1: After one hundred and nine years, the lords of soccer 31 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: decided it was time to allow women into the club. 32 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: The plan was to elect a few ladies, as Bladder 33 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: like to say, to FIFA's executive Committee, and get a 34 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: much needed public relations win. But Bladder, with his proclivity 35 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: for making inappropriate comments, couldn't even execute this pr stunt. 36 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: In his attempt to praise Australian Moya Dodd, one of 37 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,960 Speaker 1: the three female candidates up for election to FIFA's Executive Committee, 38 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,959 Speaker 1: Bladder found a way to offend. You have a Condi 39 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,519 Speaker 1: date and the good Condi date, and the good looking 40 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: Condi date. As Bladder giggled about Moya Dodd's looks, the 41 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: camera cut to Maria Dodd, who maintained a stone like stair, 42 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:58,600 Speaker 1: you know, the type you put on when you're seething 43 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: with rage inside, but you don't want to show it. 44 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: And FIFA's president wasn't done putting his foot in his mouth, 45 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: though sadly there's no audio of this moment. After Dodd, 46 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: Lydia in Secara, and Sonya Benami were officially named to 47 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,560 Speaker 1: FIFA's Executive Committee, Bladder stood at the podium and yelled 48 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: say something, ladies. You're always speaking at home, Now you 49 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: can speak here. It was typical Bladder and typical FIFA. 50 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:32,120 Speaker 1: Even when seeming to do the right thing, it became 51 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: clear FIFA was doing it for all the wrong reasons. 52 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: As a global nonprofit, FIFA's mandate is to support soccer 53 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: around the globe, not just a men's game, but also 54 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: the women's. Of course, it's always put the men's game first. 55 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: FIFA did organize the first Women's World Championship tournament, in 56 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: sixty one years after the first Men's World Cup. That 57 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: nineteen tournament has been described by some as a silent trigger, 58 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: one that said in motion the modern women's game, and 59 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: there's some truth to that. In two thousand and nineteen, 60 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: more than a billion people around the world watched some 61 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,520 Speaker 1: of the Women's World Cup, and that is a massively 62 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: forward compared to that tournament that was only carried live 63 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: in China and on tape delay in the US. But 64 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: the road to today's women's game is marked by decades 65 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,840 Speaker 1: of sexism and shortsighted greediness. You're gonna hear about how 66 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: FIFA created and maintains the system that has forced women 67 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,279 Speaker 1: to battle and claw for the scraps of FIFA's largest 68 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 1: all while the lords of soccer enriched themselves. It was 69 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 1: a run of the mill conference room, you know the 70 00:04:55,839 --> 00:05:00,160 Speaker 1: type with rows of foldable chairs and tables call fee 71 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: on the back. The room was full of sports apparel executives, 72 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:08,279 Speaker 1: everyone hoping to strike a deal. In the months before 73 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:14,039 Speaker 1: the FIFA Women's World Championship. That nondescript conference room is 74 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: where Michelle Acres found herself on a stage in Arizona, 75 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: in front of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. I went 76 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,960 Speaker 1: and said, hey, we need your support. Years old. At 77 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: the time, Acres was already one of the top women's 78 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: players in the world, probably the best. At nearly six 79 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: ft tall, Acres ruled the soccer pitch, playing as physically 80 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 1: dominant a game as anyone man or woman in the sport. 81 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: Yet Acres was a virtual unknown. Support and commercial opportunities 82 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: for the women's game were non existent. FIFA and its 83 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: regional federations had ignored women's soccer for decades, and as 84 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: a result, so did pretty much everyone else in the sport, 85 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:07,760 Speaker 1: especially the sports marketing and apparel companies. Even though the 86 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,600 Speaker 1: U S national team had just qualified for the World 87 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: Championship in China a few months later, Acres was struggling financially, 88 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,680 Speaker 1: like all the women in the sport. Acres bagged the 89 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: suits in the room to support her, her teammates and 90 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 1: Team America. She told me, she pleaded, please invest in 91 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: women's soccer. We need us soccer. We need all the 92 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: corporations and people in soccer to support our team because 93 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: we're gonna go win a World Cup. And they laugh. 94 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: There was nothing funny about it, and nothing funny about 95 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,040 Speaker 1: how ill equipped in cash strapped the U S women's 96 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: team was a few months before Acres launched her police 97 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: for help, she and her team had traveled to Haiti 98 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:58,559 Speaker 1: desperately poor, politically chaotic, and dangerously unsafe. Haiti, the Caribbean nation, 99 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,520 Speaker 1: was in the midst of year of political upheaval that 100 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: included assassinations and coups, but Conka Calf, FIFA's North American Federation, 101 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: shrugged off the dangers and decided to hold its qualifying 102 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:16,239 Speaker 1: matches for FIFA Women's World Championship on the troubled island. 103 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: Acre says, it was as awful an experience as you 104 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: might expect. Even now, it's hard for me to believe 105 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: anyone in soccer thought Haiti was an appropriate place to 106 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: hold an international tournament, let alone the first women's qualifying tournament. 107 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: We stayed at this hotel that was surrounded by really 108 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: high cement wall, like maybe twenty ft high, with broken 109 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: glass and stuff at the top. The water was off 110 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: on and off all the time, electricity was on and 111 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: off all the time, and of course you couldn't drink 112 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: the water. We basically jumped in the pool like after 113 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: practices to shower. At this time, most of the top 114 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:04,640 Speaker 1: male soccer players in the world were earning millions in 115 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: salaries and sponsorships. With a mere fifteen dollar a day 116 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: per diem and a thousand dollars a month stipend, Acres 117 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: and her teammates were literally playing for the love of 118 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: the game and the flag on their chests. But as 119 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: bad as the rundown hotel in Haiti was, the trip 120 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: to the stadium was even worse. We had these like 121 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: they're kind of like those kind of tourists buses that 122 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: hotels have that kind of take you from the airport 123 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: to the you know, hotel. That's what we had to 124 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: go to our games. So we're all stuffed on this 125 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: bus thing, uh gelopi bus thing, and all our gear 126 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: was like thrown on top of the bus like you 127 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,680 Speaker 1: know Griswold station wagon. And we had guards hanging on 128 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:56,559 Speaker 1: the sides of the bus with these huge automatic weapons, 129 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,240 Speaker 1: and the people were like grabbing the bus and sucking 130 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,479 Speaker 1: the bus and shaking. It was so it was scary. 131 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: Now FIFA treated all of the women's teams around the 132 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: globe like garbage. In the nineteen seventies and eighties, there 133 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: was no money for the women's game. But you might 134 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: think that the U S team, based in the largest 135 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,559 Speaker 1: economy in the world would be given additional resources. That's America, right, 136 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 1: But they didn't. Everyone under FIFA's umbrella, from the regional 137 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: organizations to the advertisers to the government, they all refused 138 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:38,439 Speaker 1: to cough up any money. And whatever American patriotism existed 139 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: in that Arizona conference room, it didn't extend to the 140 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: U S women's national team. Everyone ignored Acres except no 141 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 1: one believed except for one guy. That one guy was 142 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: Mike Hoban, vice president of soccer promotions at Umbro. What's Umbro? 143 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: If you're old enough, you might remember Umbro from your childhood. 144 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: In the nineteen eighties, it seemed like everyone had a 145 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: pair of their brightly colored nylon draw strings soccer shorts. 146 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,760 Speaker 1: After a mildly successful pro soccer career in the nineteen seventies, 147 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: Hoban knew all about struggling financially to play the game 148 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,080 Speaker 1: you love, Mick Hoeban gave me his card and said, 149 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,679 Speaker 1: I'm with Umbro. I want to sign you. Umbro, which 150 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,959 Speaker 1: sponsored the Brazilian legend Pelee, signed Acres to a major deal, 151 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: the first ever for a female soccer player and for 152 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: the first time in her career. Acre says she didn't 153 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: have to worry about money. She wasn't rich, but she 154 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:46,200 Speaker 1: wasn't struggling either. But but, but but she was literally 155 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: the only woman in who could say that, and Acres 156 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: his financial success was completely due to Mick Hoban's personal interest, 157 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 1: not any of the lords of soccer who controlled the 158 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:02,200 Speaker 1: sport or anyone else. And it with the first FIFA 159 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,560 Speaker 1: Women's World Championship right around the corner, it looked like 160 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: the safe might be cracking. The money men who had 161 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: so long ignored the women's game might be ready to 162 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 1: make an investment. Welcome to China and a truly historic occasion. 163 00:11:23,559 --> 00:11:27,319 Speaker 1: With Chinese pop music blaring, Tianni Stadium and the busy 164 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:32,840 Speaker 1: metropolis of quang Chu was buzzing. Sixty fans stopping, cheering 165 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: and yelling, It had all the trappions of a World 166 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: Cup final on the field. Pale always the ambassador for 167 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:43,640 Speaker 1: the beautiful game. Welcome the two teams. It's the FEBA 168 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,520 Speaker 1: Women's World Championship Final. For the eminem's gun, It's the 169 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:52,440 Speaker 1: United States versus Norway. The presence of the greatest soccer 170 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,280 Speaker 1: player ever only added to the pageantry and spectacle of 171 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:59,240 Speaker 1: the moment. As the U S women took the pitch, 172 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 1: their white Adida's uniforms gleamed under the stadium's lights. With 173 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: the red and blue stripes, there was no doubt Team 174 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 1: America had arrived. Look a little closer at the photos 175 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,960 Speaker 1: from the match, though, and you'll see how ill fitting 176 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: the uniforms really were. They were baggy and long. The 177 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: sleeves were designed for athletes with far broader shoulders than 178 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: any of the US players. Oh, there were guys uniforms. 179 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,680 Speaker 1: They were from the guys team. The US women's team 180 00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 1: were wearing hand me downs. The uniforms had once belonged 181 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:37,439 Speaker 1: to an American boys youth squad. It was the latest 182 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: in a long line of slights and snubs for a 183 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:44,319 Speaker 1: team on the cusp of a world championship. But most 184 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:48,120 Speaker 1: of Acre's teammates didn't care. She didn't really care. They 185 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,199 Speaker 1: were young and just happy to be playing, and they 186 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: hand me down uniforms were, if you can believe it, 187 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: a step up. Six years earlier, the US Soccer Federation 188 00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:02,880 Speaker 1: gave Acres and her teammates mismatched and numberless men's practice 189 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: jerseys for an international competition in Italy. We had to 190 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:12,080 Speaker 1: sew the patches on um US soccer patch. It was 191 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,840 Speaker 1: just kind of here you go. FIFA had brought the 192 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 1: eyes of the soccer world to southern China in the 193 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,840 Speaker 1: fall of Still it wasn't anywhere near the gusto reserved 194 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:27,679 Speaker 1: for the men's game. Remember, in nineteen FIFA demanded Argentina 195 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 1: install a new color TV transmission system to make sure 196 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:34,200 Speaker 1: the World Cup and its sponsors looked perfect on TV. 197 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: Thirteen years later, FIFA couldn't have cared less what the 198 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:42,960 Speaker 1: women were wearing. Still, a tournament of this size for 199 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:47,080 Speaker 1: women and nominally backed by FIFA had never been attempted before. 200 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 1: It was remarkable for an organization that had not just 201 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: ignored the women's game, but, as the journalist Grant Wall 202 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: points out, actively worked to undermine it for decades and decades, 203 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:05,559 Speaker 1: FIFA his view women soccer with total disdain. Until the 204 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,680 Speaker 1: early nineteen eighties, FIFA had supported bands on women playing soccer, 205 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 1: both professionally and recreationally in countries like the UK, Germany 206 00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: and Brazil. It's really shameful how long it took FIFA 207 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: to get on board with women's soccer. Sexism has long 208 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 1: been the status quo for the lords of soccer. By 209 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,040 Speaker 1: the mid nineteen eighties, that began to change ever so 210 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:33,920 Speaker 1: slightly when at the forty five FIFA Congress, Ellen Villy, 211 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: a Norwegian delegate, address soccer's governing body. She told FIFA 212 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: to stop ignoring the women's game. Surprisingly, President Joel Havlange 213 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: and General Secretary Set Bladder agreed. That's how the tournament 214 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:54,359 Speaker 1: came about. With communist China desperate to host an international 215 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: sporting event and willing to put the cost. Havlang and 216 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: Bladder saw a payday for FIFA up with little to 217 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 1: no financial risk if it failed, which, let's be honest, 218 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: the man of FIFA half expected it to. The candy 219 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: maker Mars signed on as the sole sponsor. Today's game 220 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:18,040 Speaker 1: is presented by Myers Milky Way Bar. Enjoy the smooth 221 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 1: chocolate and caramel taste of the original Smoothie. It should 222 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:27,440 Speaker 1: come as no surprise that the chauvinistic, male dominated organization 223 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:32,480 Speaker 1: that is FIFA had some irrational concerns about women's biological 224 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:36,480 Speaker 1: sporting abilities. The man who ran FIFA thought the women 225 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: should use a smaller ball, believing grown women incapable of 226 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:45,360 Speaker 1: handling a regulation size one. That plan was ultimately scrapped, 227 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: but FIFA did shorten the women's games from the traditional 228 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: ninety minutes down to eighty one. US player joked at 229 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: the time that FIFA was afraid their ovaries would fall out. 230 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: U S goalkeeper Mary Harvey, who would later be come 231 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: a senior FIFA official, never understood the decision. It didn't 232 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 1: make sense. Why are we playing any minutes games? I 233 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: played ninety minutes with my club. Why am I playing 234 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: eighty minutes here? And we are on the way as 235 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: the blast ball flash? Really is what the side up. 236 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: Throughout the tournament, the twelve teams dismantled the idea women 237 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 1: were unable to play the sport at a high level. 238 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: The final was no different. America's star forward Michelle Acres 239 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:35,800 Speaker 1: is physical and aggressive style was particularly impressive. There we 240 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: see Michelle a first golf Don't watch the so dangerous 241 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: pour off the wall, fade on the ground and the 242 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:46,120 Speaker 1: newcapy figure jump high in the air, redirect the ball 243 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 1: at the ball. What a fantastic goal. If you watch 244 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: the games, you heard the commentators constantly reinforcing the idea 245 00:16:53,800 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: that the women's game wasn't inferior, wasn't daintier, like so 246 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: many global soccer headlong belief place scrappy. Here in the 247 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: opening stages of this second half, as Michelle is getting 248 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: up off the ground, I believe it's the old knee 249 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,159 Speaker 1: making contact with face and that spencer. Certainly both the 250 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,720 Speaker 1: police that one bit, Both Norway and the US were 251 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: proving just how wrong soccer's ruling elite had long been. 252 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: Seconds left in this World Championship when the final whistle blew, 253 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:27,160 Speaker 1: we wait simply for the whistle and the United States 254 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 1: I finally won a World champions Jeff in soccer, and 255 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,280 Speaker 1: look at the chimlation chall le field. Back home, the 256 00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:38,000 Speaker 1: U S women's team was hailed as heroes and we're 257 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,480 Speaker 1: quickly booked on pretty much every national TV show, and 258 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:44,399 Speaker 1: they were welcomed home with a New York City ticker 259 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:49,840 Speaker 1: tape parade. Yeah sorry, I might have gotten carried away 260 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:55,639 Speaker 1: a bit. That's what should have happened, But that's not 261 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: what happened. Let me see, Michelle Akers did score two goals, 262 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:01,800 Speaker 1: and they may Americans did win the tournament in China, 263 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: that's true, but there was no ticker tape parade or 264 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,680 Speaker 1: TV network opportunities, just three journalists waiting for the team 265 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: at New York's JFK Airport. Money Nope, no fifty million 266 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: dollar payday like the men's champions Just five dollars for 267 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:23,080 Speaker 1: the players who are out of college. And they couldn't 268 00:18:23,119 --> 00:18:27,159 Speaker 1: even claim a World Cup victory. FIFA refused to bestow 269 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:32,640 Speaker 1: the title of World Cup on the women's tournament. No. Instead, 270 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: they went with this ridiculous and no doubt financially lucrative title. 271 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,400 Speaker 1: It's the Feball Women's World Championship Finals for the Eminem's Gun. 272 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 1: Did you catch that? The first ever FIFA Women's World 273 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: Championship wasn't merely sponsored by Eminem's. The trophy was literally 274 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,720 Speaker 1: called the Eminem's Cup. Delectable chocolate morsels that never melt 275 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:03,159 Speaker 1: in your mouth. Eminem's maybe, but they are still candy. 276 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: It makes me want to throw up. But I also, 277 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,239 Speaker 1: you know, shake my head. I'm like, gosh, just you know, 278 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,119 Speaker 1: it's mind blowing, and but it's it's sort of um 279 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:19,679 Speaker 1: humiliating in one sence too, and also just it's an 280 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:25,439 Speaker 1: outrage to me. And but it's also like laughable. The 281 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:30,440 Speaker 1: trophy's name hardly seems appropriate, especially compared to the religious 282 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 1: reverence the men's hardware has long been given. FIFA at 283 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,439 Speaker 1: least had the good sense the craft the trophy in 284 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: the shape of a soccer ball instead of a miniature eminem. 285 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:43,879 Speaker 1: But knowing FIFA, my guess is Mars just didn't pony 286 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: up enough cash. Whatever outrage they felt at the name, 287 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,200 Speaker 1: Mary Harvey says she knew what she and her teammates 288 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: had accomplished as far as I was concerned, we had 289 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: won the World Cup. It just happened to be the 290 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,960 Speaker 1: Women's World Cup, and what FIFA chooses to call it 291 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: or not call it was kind of their problem, not mine. 292 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 1: They were the type of parties where you sip top 293 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 1: shelf liquor while standing underneath a ten ft ice sculpture 294 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:17,800 Speaker 1: and eating orders from a waitress that would be on 295 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: the cover of some fashion magazine in a few months. 296 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: These are the types of parties FIFA is known for, 297 00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:27,160 Speaker 1: and the types of parties Michelle Acres found herself attending 298 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 1: following Team America's victory that would be at these World 299 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,960 Speaker 1: Cups or men's events and being treated kind of like 300 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,879 Speaker 1: Royalty as the best women's soccer player in the world 301 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: and with an Umbro deal to prove it. Acres was 302 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:48,200 Speaker 1: soccer Royalty, robbing elbows with the sports ruling elite as 303 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:52,360 Speaker 1: they enjoyed the gluttony of FIFA's empire. Acres knew all 304 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,240 Speaker 1: of the lords of soccer, most of them by first name, 305 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: Jal Horse, Franz, Chuck, and of course Sep. I would 306 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:02,920 Speaker 1: be wearing a dress and you know, all these black 307 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: tie things, and they would stand there and look me 308 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: up and down, and then step he would come over 309 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,040 Speaker 1: and he'd extend his hand and oh, Michelle, you look 310 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:18,720 Speaker 1: so lovely. Can we see more? The leering, the suggestive comments, 311 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: the demeaning questions, they were all features of life inside 312 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:27,360 Speaker 1: of FIFA's inner circle. I'm in the room and this 313 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,880 Speaker 1: is their culture. So I accepted that part of it 314 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,840 Speaker 1: to be in their culture to try and change it. 315 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: Access to the room, as Acres described it, allowed her 316 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: to see FIFA's outrageous wealth and culture up close, and 317 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: how it's fortune was shared with the men of the sport. 318 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: I started seeing everything the guys had and then what 319 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: we had. And when I said okay, well, we're going 320 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: to have that, and I didn't talk about it with 321 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: my team. I just did it. When it came to 322 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: funding the wins game, FIFA showed little interest in spreading 323 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,480 Speaker 1: the wealth. It wasn't recruiting long term sponsors or cultivating 324 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,119 Speaker 1: corporate partners like it was doing on the men's side. 325 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: US Soccer mimic FIFA's position, insisting it couldn't sell interest 326 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,640 Speaker 1: in the women's game. The sponsorship opportunities, they said over 327 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 1: and over, just weren't there. And yet American officials still 328 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,520 Speaker 1: demanded US female soccer players where Adida's gear at all 329 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: times without providing it like they did for the men. 330 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,679 Speaker 1: The women were trapped in a contractual relationship that didn't 331 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: provide them with basic equipment and at the same time 332 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: limited their ability to pursue outside sponsorships. I said, guys, 333 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,240 Speaker 1: they should be giving us cleats. If they're not going 334 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 1: to give us cleats, then they can't demand we wear 335 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,879 Speaker 1: a brand. When I signed with Umbro, I came into 336 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 1: camp wearing Umbro stuff because they didn't give us anything 337 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,119 Speaker 1: to wear. Then US Soccer got mad and said, no, 338 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:04,280 Speaker 1: you can't do that, and I said, yes, I can 339 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,639 Speaker 1: then give us gear to wear off the field, Whispers 340 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 1: that Acres was difficult A troublemaker soon followed. Younger teammates, 341 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 1: many of whom were still in college, were urged by 342 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 1: male US officials to keep their distance. God help them, 343 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:23,879 Speaker 1: don't go near her, because you don't want any of 344 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,439 Speaker 1: that rubbing off on you. Acres the line of attack 345 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: went wasn't standing up for her teammates, but selfishly promoting 346 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:35,679 Speaker 1: her own Umbro contract over US Soccers deal with Adidas. 347 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: There was blowout from my team to me about that. 348 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,200 Speaker 1: It was sort of seen as this, yeah, selfish kind 349 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: of act, rubbing in their face act, when it really wasn't. 350 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 1: As Women's World Cup approached, this have versus have not competition, 351 00:23:55,119 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: encouraged by the wealthy leaders of FIFA, would begin to 352 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:05,800 Speaker 1: undermine Team USA's asked for a repeat championship. It was 353 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:10,080 Speaker 1: just ten minutes into the much anticipated rematch, so it's 354 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: been a branch start for the Norwegians. When Norway's growth 355 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: set maneuvered and adjusted the ball ever so slightly along 356 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 1: the white corner arc, lining up a shot in the 357 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: opening minutes of the FIFA Women's World Cup semi final, 358 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:30,840 Speaker 1: you could hear the importance of the moment as the 359 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 1: Americans set their defense against Norway's corner kick or what 360 00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 1: a cola cake throw espath will take it? That you 361 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:46,320 Speaker 1: could even hear the Americans talking so clearly in Sweden's 362 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:50,600 Speaker 1: ros Valen Stadium is still surprising to me. To this dick, 363 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: what's the difficult one for the don't keeper? And it 364 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:58,800 Speaker 1: said brow I had laid, I think it's It was 365 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,960 Speaker 1: the biggest rivalry in FIFA's blossoming Women's World Cup tournament, 366 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:08,160 Speaker 1: and the Swedish stadium was basically empty. The four thousand 367 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: or so spectators on hand were a far cry from 368 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: the sixty thousand who saw the US and Norraway play 369 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 1: in China four years earlier. If championship for the Eminem's 370 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: Cup was a massive step forward for the women's game, 371 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: tournament was easily two steps back, not only for the 372 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,240 Speaker 1: U S side, which lost to their arch nemesis Norway 373 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 1: in the semifinals and the USA find themselves a girl behind, 374 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: but also for the women's game in general. Gone were 375 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: the pack Chinese stadiums were placed instead by a few 376 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: hundred family and friends in near empty Swedish venues. FIFA 377 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: had done little to invest in or grow the women's 378 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: game in the four years between the tournaments. In front 379 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: of the camera set Bladder love to praise the women's game. 380 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:06,760 Speaker 1: The development of women's football since nine is tremendous. The 381 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,919 Speaker 1: future of football will be feminine, and FIFA conferred the 382 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:15,680 Speaker 1: title of a World Cup on the tournament, but not 383 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:20,000 Speaker 1: much Ellens had improved. The US star Mia Ham joined 384 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: Michelle Eacres with a massive endorsement deal, landing Nike as 385 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,919 Speaker 1: her financial backer, but the economics of the sport on 386 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:32,480 Speaker 1: the whole still sucked for female soccer players in both 387 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: the US and around the world. Soccer was no road 388 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:40,920 Speaker 1: to riches. It remains an economic sacrifice. Only a select 389 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:46,600 Speaker 1: few were paid anything but a measly per diem. Women's 390 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 1: World Cup champions Norway received a ten thousand dollar a 391 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:55,520 Speaker 1: year stipend from the Norwegian Soccer Federation. That's it. One 392 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,280 Speaker 1: of their top players, Linda Madalin, survived by making a 393 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 1: living as a part time private investigator, earning the nickname 394 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: the Magnum p i of international soccer. And it was 395 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: just as bad for the Americans. Most of them were 396 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,400 Speaker 1: still largely living off of their meager daily food per 397 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 1: diem at a thirty dollar a day stipend his compensation 398 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 1: for lost wages. America in Norway were the two biggest 399 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:23,360 Speaker 1: brands in women's soccer, and they were playing too empty 400 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,880 Speaker 1: seats and paint out of their own pockets to do it. 401 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,600 Speaker 1: Behind the scenes, the women's team were pressing for a 402 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:33,840 Speaker 1: new labor contract with US Soccer, and this is why 403 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,639 Speaker 1: the team said they lost. They were too focused on 404 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:42,160 Speaker 1: fighting for better treatment to focus on the game. As 405 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,800 Speaker 1: the Olympics approached, the leaders of the women's national team 406 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:50,479 Speaker 1: said they would not go to Atlanta without first inking 407 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 1: a better financial deal. Even before the fax machine started 408 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,960 Speaker 1: eeping and slowly churning out the offer sheet, the stars 409 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,440 Speaker 1: of the U S women's national team knew what it 410 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: would say. Michelle Acres, Mia Ham, Julie Faulty, Christine Lily 411 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:15,879 Speaker 1: and Joy Faucet had been negotiating, really battling with soccer 412 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: officials for better resources for nearly a decade. Akers remembers, 413 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:23,879 Speaker 1: we just want to be the best in the world. 414 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: We want to have the best coaches, we want to 415 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,560 Speaker 1: have the best training environments, we want to have the 416 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 1: best gear. We want to play in the best tournaments. 417 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: We want to develop as athletes, we want that same opportunity. 418 00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: So to me, it was all about gaining equal access 419 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 1: to that. But this offer, now staring them in black 420 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 1: and white, was as disappointing as it was unacceptable. Win 421 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: gold at Atlanta Olympics or get nothing, no bonus for silver, 422 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,240 Speaker 1: and certainly no money for bronze. It was in stark 423 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 1: contrast to the men's deal, which paid out bonuses for 424 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 1: each win, and the men they weren't even expected to meddle. 425 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: Olympics may not have officially been a FIFA event, but 426 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,920 Speaker 1: US Soccer was a FIFA member. The decision by the 427 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: Lords of Soccer to limit financial support to the women's 428 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 1: game set the tone for all soccer federations. It allowed 429 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,040 Speaker 1: you a soccer to cry poverty when it came to 430 00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:32,160 Speaker 1: the women's team, while at the same time ramping up 431 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: spending on the men's side. It was a particularly unequal 432 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:39,880 Speaker 1: system since the US women's side had established itself as 433 00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: the premier team in the world. Former U S goalkeeper 434 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,400 Speaker 1: Mary Harvey says the team felt second class. It hurts 435 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: sometimes when we saw things that, you know, no matter 436 00:29:50,560 --> 00:29:53,360 Speaker 1: what kind of what we did, we didn't see the 437 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:57,120 Speaker 1: economic benefit of it. By the time the contract offer 438 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 1: came in, Acres and her teammates had had enough. We need, 439 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,160 Speaker 1: you know, basic things that the men's team had had 440 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: for a long time, and US Soccer said no. With 441 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,080 Speaker 1: the Atlanta Olympics just months away, for the first time, 442 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:18,240 Speaker 1: the US women had leverage, their leverage the star players, 443 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,480 Speaker 1: Mary Harvey remembers they took the lead in the negotiations. 444 00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 1: The players who were starting, players who had more leverage 445 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: than the rest of us. Did this on behalf of 446 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 1: all of us because they wanted us to have better conditions. 447 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:38,160 Speaker 1: Starting midfielder Julie Faudy reviewed the offer. She crossed out 448 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: the Olympic bonus, clauses and facts back the contract. The 449 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: message was simple, do better pay us what we're worth. 450 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: Like FIFA, US Soccer had never really contemplated what women's 451 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: soccer was worth. The women's side was viewed as a 452 00:30:56,600 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: financial drain, and so in retaliation for using its offer, 453 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:05,360 Speaker 1: US Soccer canceled the team's flights to an upcoming training camp, 454 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:09,040 Speaker 1: locking out the nine most important players on the U 455 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 1: S women's team. US Soccer then went on the offensive 456 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,840 Speaker 1: in the media, attacking the stars of the team. They 457 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:22,240 Speaker 1: tried everything they could to demean us and basically called 458 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 1: us little girls. The women held strong. US Soccer wanted gold, 459 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: they needed it, and eventually they caved a green, not 460 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,720 Speaker 1: only to provide bonuses for gold, silver, and bronze, but 461 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:40,480 Speaker 1: also agreeing to provide pregnancy leave and nanny's for players 462 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: with small children. US Soccer realized they couldn't bully us 463 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: are intimidate. It was going to be a bigger game 464 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,600 Speaker 1: than just these little girls acting out. This is going 465 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: to be a legal battle against giants. Ironically, US Soccer 466 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,400 Speaker 1: was rewarded with something far later than just a gold medal, 467 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,960 Speaker 1: which the US women won. Seventy six thousand rabbid and 468 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 1: passionate fans were on hand to watch the US women's game, 469 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:14,480 Speaker 1: proving there was a gigantic, untapped market for women's soccer. 470 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,400 Speaker 1: Here's Mary Harvey. We weren't a curtain raiser, we were 471 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 1: the event. That's a big deal, and people was there. 472 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:35,280 Speaker 1: FIFA saw that. On June the traffic on the Jersey 473 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 1: Turnpike was brutal, even worse than usual. When Team USA's 474 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,640 Speaker 1: bus did move, it was only a few feet at 475 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,000 Speaker 1: a time. Jolting forward and then jerking to a stop. 476 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 1: The team was anxious to get to New Jersey's Meadowlands 477 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,640 Speaker 1: Stadium for the first game of the World Cup. They 478 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,720 Speaker 1: had spent the last year training and doing every TV 479 00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 1: interview and commercial they could to sell ticket and build anticipation. 480 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:06,360 Speaker 1: Corporate America had noticed, and the stars of the team 481 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:09,760 Speaker 1: were everywhere. I could be champion of Women's World Cup Soccer. 482 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 1: I can be a goal like soccer or power power. 483 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:21,120 Speaker 1: Are you ready for Women's World Cup Soccer? Brought to 484 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:25,560 Speaker 1: you by Blood Light. After the heroics of the Olympics, 485 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:31,400 Speaker 1: interest in women's soccer had surged. FIFA, however, remain skeptical 486 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:35,440 Speaker 1: that a Women's World Cup could attract global attention. So 487 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:39,280 Speaker 1: we were up against the prejudice, an old way of thinking. 488 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:43,320 Speaker 1: That's Donna Dave Verona, a former Olympic swimmer and chair 489 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:49,000 Speaker 1: of the Women's World Cup organizing Committee. That's skepticism from 490 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:53,120 Speaker 1: FIFA weighed on the players who remembered the empty stadiums 491 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,720 Speaker 1: four years earlier in Sweden. As they pulled into the 492 00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: Meadowlands parking lot. They couldn't believe their eyes. Americans are 493 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 1: cheering on this team in this sport unlike just about 494 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:11,640 Speaker 1: any other. They heard the screams of go USA and 495 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:19,799 Speaker 1: of we love you, Mia, Mia worship, and then saw 496 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,480 Speaker 1: thousands of fans primed and ready to go, young girls 497 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,359 Speaker 1: and white women's jerseys, not just soccer moms and their 498 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:31,080 Speaker 1: kids attending games, teenage boys with their shirts off and 499 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:41,240 Speaker 1: Team USA painted across their chests. Take by the opening 500 00:34:41,239 --> 00:34:45,640 Speaker 1: match was a sellout. Seventy seven thousand fans filled the stadium, 501 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:50,200 Speaker 1: and the excitement only grew as Team USA kept scoring 502 00:34:55,160 --> 00:35:06,440 Speaker 1: Christy in winning. In the summer of the sports world 503 00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:09,600 Speaker 1: was consumed by the Women's World Cup, not just the 504 00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:13,799 Speaker 1: U S team, but the entire slate of matches. The 505 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:17,920 Speaker 1: average attendance for the thirty two games was thirty seven 506 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:21,680 Speaker 1: thousand fans, with more than seventy eight thousand on hand 507 00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:26,880 Speaker 1: to watch Mexico in Brazil. By comparison, a year earlier 508 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:30,319 Speaker 1: in France, the average attendance at the Men's World Cup 509 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 1: was roughly forty three thousand people per match. By any measure, 510 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:40,879 Speaker 1: this was a success, But these crowds at Women's World Cup, 511 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:47,760 Speaker 1: they almost didn't happen. The international organization that governed soccer, FIFA, 512 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:52,160 Speaker 1: George stadiums would be half empty. Stephen Vanderpool, the head 513 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:55,840 Speaker 1: of media relations for the Women's World Cup, told me 514 00:35:56,280 --> 00:36:00,800 Speaker 1: FIFA didn't believe there was any real interest. FIFA envisioned 515 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:05,520 Speaker 1: a smaller event, a tournament that was held in smaller stadiums, 516 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:09,080 Speaker 1: basically in the eastern part of the United States. Thankfully, 517 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:12,240 Speaker 1: the people that were involved with the big committee for 518 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:15,520 Speaker 1: the Women's World Cup and the people that ran it 519 00:36:15,719 --> 00:36:18,600 Speaker 1: had worked on the ninety World Cup for the men 520 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:24,320 Speaker 1: and knew what was possible. FIFA didn't believe women's soccer 521 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:28,320 Speaker 1: players could draw sizeable crowds. The lords of soccer wanted 522 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:33,080 Speaker 1: a safe event in small five to ten thousand seed stadiums, 523 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:38,920 Speaker 1: definitely not New Jersey's massive meadowlands or California's Grand Canyon 524 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:43,440 Speaker 1: like Rose Bowl. World Cup organizers like Donna Dave Verona 525 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:48,960 Speaker 1: instead bet big and ignored FIVA, believing the interest was there. 526 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:54,440 Speaker 1: I think it has to do with chauvinism and the 527 00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:59,839 Speaker 1: fact that the FIFA membership wants to protect the men's game, 528 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:04,000 Speaker 1: and some of them felt if the women encroach on 529 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:07,600 Speaker 1: the game, it somehow undermines the credibility of the men's game. 530 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,360 Speaker 1: FIFA didn't argue or try to stop them, but they 531 00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:14,600 Speaker 1: didn't do much to help either. The American public believed 532 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:16,920 Speaker 1: in US, but a lot of the top sponsors didn't. 533 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:20,640 Speaker 1: Even as ticket sales were steadily growing in the months 534 00:37:20,680 --> 00:37:24,799 Speaker 1: before the opening game, FIFA's powerful marketing arm once again 535 00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:28,520 Speaker 1: stayed on the sidelines, unwilling to help the women's brand, 536 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:31,360 Speaker 1: and let's be honest, probably leaving money on the table. 537 00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:35,120 Speaker 1: We had to really struggle with the sponsors to get 538 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,360 Speaker 1: them to activate the sponsorship. Many didn't. They just didn't 539 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:42,960 Speaker 1: believe we could do it. Some global brands like McDonalds, Fuji, 540 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:47,120 Speaker 1: and Gillette ultimately did sign up as advertisers, but reluctantly, 541 00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:51,280 Speaker 1: and even when they did sign sponsorship deals, they went small. 542 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 1: That was a mistake, Vanderpool says. When we sold out 543 00:37:55,560 --> 00:37:58,520 Speaker 1: the opening game, I think it was such an eye 544 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:02,520 Speaker 1: opener to everybody in the world. By the time the 545 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:05,680 Speaker 1: tournament got underway, the brench of World Cup fever has 546 00:38:05,719 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 1: reached a crescendo. In just three short weeks. Everyone was 547 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:13,120 Speaker 1: scrambling to find ways to ride the wave of anticipation. 548 00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:19,120 Speaker 1: Even ESPN and ABC, FIFA's official broadcast partners, had to 549 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 1: rework their TV schedules to capitalize on the interests. This 550 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:28,080 Speaker 1: is the biggest game in the lives of these USA players, 551 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:30,520 Speaker 1: and you could say that for China to US an 552 00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:36,440 Speaker 1: what in front of a record ninety thousand fans Women's 553 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: World Cup Final was nothing short of extraordinary. Acres Michelle 554 00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 1: Acres cuts to land, but it's right at Gohl and 555 00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:50,759 Speaker 1: yes she can score from there. Exciting, hard fought one 556 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:54,439 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty minutes of utterly gripping athleticism, played under 557 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:58,799 Speaker 1: the hot California's son and the historic Rose Bowl Stadium, 558 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:02,080 Speaker 1: and it would end in one of the most spectacular 559 00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:07,600 Speaker 1: moments in sports history. Refereece just looked at the watch. 560 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:12,600 Speaker 1: That's it the winner. I'll be Women's World Cup will 561 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:17,400 Speaker 1: be sited on pedalt kicks. When the whistle blew, the 562 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:21,520 Speaker 1: game was tied nil nil, one by one China in 563 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:24,320 Speaker 1: the US came to the line to take their penalty kicks. 564 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:29,239 Speaker 1: They found themselves tied once again, four to four, with 565 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:32,919 Speaker 1: a single US player left to take her shot. Chat 566 00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:36,160 Speaker 1: Stain will take it. She missed a penalty kick against 567 00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:41,400 Speaker 1: charlat Pump and they lost that air. Then Brandy Chastain 568 00:39:41,640 --> 00:39:49,840 Speaker 1: just drilled the penalty kick past China's golding Chastain, sprinted 569 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:53,240 Speaker 1: and then dropped to her knees, ripping off her jersey 570 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:57,239 Speaker 1: and flexing her arms in an explosion of pure celebration. 571 00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:01,920 Speaker 1: It is to this day one of the most iconic moments, 572 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,960 Speaker 1: not just in women's sports, but in all of sports. 573 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:11,840 Speaker 1: Women's World Cup was a success. It's set records and 574 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:16,799 Speaker 1: both live attendance and TV audience, and it even turned 575 00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:20,000 Speaker 1: a profit of four million dollars on a paltry thirty 576 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:25,279 Speaker 1: million dollar budget. Still, while FIFA President Set Bladder was ecstatic, 577 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:30,080 Speaker 1: Donna Dave Verona said some FIFA members still refused to 578 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:33,360 Speaker 1: believe there was a market for women's soccer outside of 579 00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:38,640 Speaker 1: the US. They wouldn't believe their own eyes. Some of 580 00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:41,480 Speaker 1: the FIFA members says, after we sold it out and 581 00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:45,279 Speaker 1: it was so exciting. Not in my country. This is 582 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:56,239 Speaker 1: not going to happen in my country. The photos had 583 00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:59,600 Speaker 1: all the blood and gore of a crime scene. In 584 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:04,320 Speaker 1: one photo, shins with the skin sheared off. In another, 585 00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:09,640 Speaker 1: a once white Nike sock saturated with blood from knee 586 00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:14,040 Speaker 1: to ankle. The photos had been tweeted out in two 587 00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:18,440 Speaker 1: thousand and thirteen by American Sydney LaRue in Australian Sam Kerr, 588 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,400 Speaker 1: two of the best female soccer players in the world. 589 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:25,239 Speaker 1: To say they were angry, it would be an understatement. 590 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:28,320 Speaker 1: Some of the world's top female soccer players are fuming 591 00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:30,480 Speaker 1: they may have to play on artificial grass and next 592 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:34,279 Speaker 1: year's Women's World Cup finals in Canada. Canada had been 593 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:37,680 Speaker 1: awarded the upcoming two thousand and fifteen Women's World Cup 594 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:41,239 Speaker 1: and FIFA had approved a decision to play most of 595 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:45,640 Speaker 1: the games not on grass but on synthetic skin ripping, 596 00:41:45,719 --> 00:41:50,560 Speaker 1: blood inducing plastic turf. Players like all time leading US 597 00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:54,880 Speaker 1: score Abby Wombach were piste and speaking out should be 598 00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:58,680 Speaker 1: grass names, not blood. It was almost twenty five years 599 00:41:58,719 --> 00:42:02,240 Speaker 1: since the first women's tournament in China, and once again 600 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:06,520 Speaker 1: the women's side was having to speak out about unequal treatment. 601 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:10,399 Speaker 1: The stars of the women's game rightfully argued that men 602 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:14,040 Speaker 1: would never be subjected to a plane surface as harsh 603 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:18,240 Speaker 1: as turf. It is a gender equality issue. No chance 604 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:20,719 Speaker 1: would the men ever play a World Cup on turf, 605 00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:22,520 Speaker 1: and I think that the women are being treated as 606 00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:26,960 Speaker 1: guinea pigs. FIVA remained unmoved by the social media pressure, 607 00:42:27,560 --> 00:42:30,399 Speaker 1: and in two thousand and fourteen, eighty one players from 608 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:33,560 Speaker 1: more than a dozen countries sued FIFA in the Canadian 609 00:42:33,560 --> 00:42:37,560 Speaker 1: Soccer Federation for gender discrimination. It was the type of 610 00:42:37,560 --> 00:42:41,760 Speaker 1: bad pr FIFA's embattled but all powerful president set Bladders 611 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:45,120 Speaker 1: didn't need, with the rumors of vote buying, bribery and 612 00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:49,399 Speaker 1: corruption and a US federal probe swirling around, and there 613 00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:52,520 Speaker 1: was an easy fix. For a couple of million dollars, 614 00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:57,200 Speaker 1: Canada's skin ripping artificial fields could be retrofitted and replaced 615 00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:02,160 Speaker 1: by soft, lush, safe grass. FIFA had made a profit 616 00:43:02,200 --> 00:43:04,799 Speaker 1: of four billion dollars on the previous two thousand and 617 00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:07,759 Speaker 1: fourteen Men's World Cup in Brazil and had billions in 618 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:13,040 Speaker 1: the bank. Money wasn't the issue. Sexism was. The Men's 619 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:17,960 Speaker 1: World Cup was given brand new stadiums, brand new venues 620 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:20,680 Speaker 1: around Brazil, and all we're asking is for a great 621 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:24,319 Speaker 1: circuit plan. Fighting the women on this issue seems such 622 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:28,640 Speaker 1: a tone deaf, short sighted decision, especially for Bladder, who 623 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:32,200 Speaker 1: had long prided himself as the original supporter inside FIFA 624 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:38,160 Speaker 1: of the women's game. Women's football is definitely my wouldn't 625 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:42,560 Speaker 1: say my baby, but I considered myself a little bit 626 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:45,480 Speaker 1: as a good father of the organization of women's football 627 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:49,640 Speaker 1: in FIFA. As an organization, FIFA had spent most of 628 00:43:49,680 --> 00:43:53,160 Speaker 1: the last four decades short changing the women's game. Still, 629 00:43:53,520 --> 00:43:55,600 Speaker 1: Mary Harvey, the U S women's goalie in the early 630 00:43:56,360 --> 00:44:00,960 Speaker 1: who lived through years of pathetic resources, remembers as often 631 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:05,000 Speaker 1: the lone voice of support for the women's competition. You know, 632 00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:09,760 Speaker 1: I saw Bladder do some things that helped advance woman's football. 633 00:44:10,520 --> 00:44:14,040 Speaker 1: After her playing career wrapped up, Harvey joined FIFA in 634 00:44:14,080 --> 00:44:17,440 Speaker 1: two thousand and three as the Director of Development and 635 00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:20,640 Speaker 1: remembers pushing for the creation of an under seventeen women's 636 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:22,960 Speaker 1: World Cup like the men had. I went into the 637 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,760 Speaker 1: President's office and lobbied for it. Bladder not only listened, 638 00:44:26,840 --> 00:44:32,320 Speaker 1: but decided seemingly unilaterally to follow Harvey's advice and announced 639 00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:36,120 Speaker 1: his decision at an executive committee meeting. We're doing this. 640 00:44:36,239 --> 00:44:40,040 Speaker 1: Anybody object when the FIFA president says that, right, who's 641 00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:41,919 Speaker 1: dumb enough to actually open their mouth and say something? 642 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:44,960 Speaker 1: Answers nobody, But I mean that's an example of where 643 00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:48,360 Speaker 1: he said we're doing this. Donna Dave Verona, the chair 644 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:52,239 Speaker 1: of Women's World Cup, also remembers Bladder as someone who 645 00:44:52,239 --> 00:44:55,080 Speaker 1: could plant a seed of an idea within FIFA and 646 00:44:55,160 --> 00:44:59,200 Speaker 1: make it happen. Step had his negative aspects, but he 647 00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:01,839 Speaker 1: he was a vision narry. He wasn't afraid to say 648 00:45:01,880 --> 00:45:05,200 Speaker 1: that stuff. So he planted a seed. But were they 649 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:07,759 Speaker 1: going to be a thousand percent behind it and put 650 00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,799 Speaker 1: the money where the math is? No. At the same time, 651 00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:13,800 Speaker 1: Bladder would also make public comments that would undermine the 652 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:16,520 Speaker 1: women's game, as he did in two thousand and four. 653 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,279 Speaker 1: Recently he was asked how should women's soccer be made 654 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,520 Speaker 1: more popular? He said, well, they should wear shorts or shorts. 655 00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:26,880 Speaker 1: If Bladder and FIFA wanted to make the changes to 656 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:31,080 Speaker 1: Canada's field turf, it would have happened, but it didn't, 657 00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:35,440 Speaker 1: and instead FIFA threatened to suspend any player who challenged 658 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:39,520 Speaker 1: in court FIFA's artificial turf mandate. The women dropped the 659 00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:43,320 Speaker 1: lawsuit and FIFA agreed in the future never to host 660 00:45:43,360 --> 00:45:47,839 Speaker 1: a tournament on artificial grass. It was a small consolation 661 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,880 Speaker 1: for the players who still had to face plastic fields 662 00:45:51,280 --> 00:46:01,520 Speaker 1: and bloody kneecaps. After seventeen years at the helm of 663 00:46:01,600 --> 00:46:05,040 Speaker 1: international soccer, it's hard to know where set Bladder begins 664 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:09,360 Speaker 1: and FIFA ends. The two had been intimately linked for decades. 665 00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:13,759 Speaker 1: FIFA was his baby. Nowhere was this more true, says 666 00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:16,440 Speaker 1: journalist Grant Wall, than on the women's side of the sport. 667 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:18,719 Speaker 1: He takes a lot of pride in the role that 668 00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:21,720 Speaker 1: he had and created the first Women's World Cup hosted 669 00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:24,759 Speaker 1: by FIFA. But FIFA had done a terrible job with 670 00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:30,160 Speaker 1: women's soccer over the decades. Then, almost overnight, Bladder was gone, 671 00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:33,920 Speaker 1: pushed out by the sports sponsors in two thousand and fifteen, 672 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:39,080 Speaker 1: under a shadow of corruption. FIFA president Set Bladder has resigned. 673 00:46:39,800 --> 00:46:43,000 Speaker 1: With Bladder gone, and after more than a dozen senior 674 00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:45,880 Speaker 1: soccer officials were indicted by the U S Department of Justice, 675 00:46:46,320 --> 00:46:49,239 Speaker 1: there was optimism this would lead to a new attitude 676 00:46:49,239 --> 00:46:53,640 Speaker 1: within FIFA on issues of equality. Former U S star 677 00:46:53,800 --> 00:46:58,640 Speaker 1: turned TV analyst Julie Foudy tweeted, quote, Hallelujah, Set Bladder 678 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:04,160 Speaker 1: is out. Unquote. The US star Carly Lloyd was optimistic 679 00:47:04,239 --> 00:47:08,560 Speaker 1: that decades of sexism and organizational inequality might soon be 680 00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:10,719 Speaker 1: a thing of the past. I think it's going to 681 00:47:10,840 --> 00:47:13,520 Speaker 1: be really really good for our game, and I think 682 00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:17,360 Speaker 1: the next leader um person in charge really needs to 683 00:47:17,400 --> 00:47:20,440 Speaker 1: step in and create equal rights for men and women. 684 00:47:21,080 --> 00:47:23,799 Speaker 1: FIFA does have a new human rights policy and a 685 00:47:23,840 --> 00:47:29,920 Speaker 1: female General secretary. However, when Bladder's replacement, Gianni Infantino, stepped 686 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:33,080 Speaker 1: forward to present the US women their World Cup trophy 687 00:47:33,080 --> 00:47:36,800 Speaker 1: in France in two thousand nineteen, a deluge of booze 688 00:47:36,920 --> 00:47:46,240 Speaker 1: rained down on him. Fans were angry at the seemingly endless, 689 00:47:46,320 --> 00:47:51,280 Speaker 1: crappy treatment women suffered at FIFA's hands. Little it seems 690 00:47:51,320 --> 00:47:55,759 Speaker 1: has changed. Corruption is still a problem at FIFA, and 691 00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:58,759 Speaker 1: as Mary Harvey pointed out, it's not just what the 692 00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:01,799 Speaker 1: corrupt FIFA members did with the money, that's what they 693 00:48:01,840 --> 00:48:05,439 Speaker 1: didn't do. I mean, I got pretty angry because you've 694 00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:08,120 Speaker 1: been told your whole life women's football candid this, or 695 00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,200 Speaker 1: you can't have that because there's no money. And then 696 00:48:10,239 --> 00:48:12,880 Speaker 1: one day you lift the veil and see what people 697 00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:15,239 Speaker 1: were doing with the money. It makes you pretty angry. 698 00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:19,480 Speaker 1: As journalist Grant Wall explains, the issues of inequality within 699 00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:23,120 Speaker 1: FIFA remain pronounced. The legacy of all of that is 700 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:26,719 Speaker 1: still there today, where FIFA likes to say it's enlightened 701 00:48:26,760 --> 00:48:32,640 Speaker 1: today about women's soccer, but these entrenched attitudes from men 702 00:48:32,880 --> 00:48:37,480 Speaker 1: inside FIFA towards the sport of women's soccer are still there. 703 00:48:37,520 --> 00:48:41,800 Speaker 1: I'm told FIFA has significantly increased the prize money for 704 00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:45,680 Speaker 1: the women's game, setting aside thirty million dollars for the 705 00:48:45,719 --> 00:48:49,360 Speaker 1: two thousand and nineteen Women's World Cup. As the winners, 706 00:48:49,600 --> 00:48:52,360 Speaker 1: the US team walked away with a four million dollar 707 00:48:52,440 --> 00:48:55,600 Speaker 1: pay day, more than double the two thousand fifteen award 708 00:48:56,239 --> 00:48:59,200 Speaker 1: and a massive step forward from the pay to play 709 00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:04,320 Speaker 1: days of their es, but it's still a paltry amount 710 00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:07,160 Speaker 1: compared to the men whose prize pool in two thousand 711 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:12,160 Speaker 1: and eighteen was four hundred million dollars, with the French 712 00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:15,840 Speaker 1: team earning a staggering thirty eight million dollars for its victory. 713 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:20,600 Speaker 1: FIFA's attitude has long been the men's World Cup makes 714 00:49:20,640 --> 00:49:24,640 Speaker 1: more money and they should enjoy a larger payday. However, 715 00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:28,920 Speaker 1: FIFA is a nonprofit and it's mandate is the support 716 00:49:29,000 --> 00:49:33,360 Speaker 1: soccer around the world. That mandate doesn't distinguish between the 717 00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:37,759 Speaker 1: men's game and the women's game. Increasingly, FIFA is out 718 00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:41,080 Speaker 1: of step with the sporting world. Many other nonprofits that 719 00:49:41,160 --> 00:49:45,399 Speaker 1: oversee both men's and women's sports, particularly in tennis, I've 720 00:49:45,440 --> 00:49:49,440 Speaker 1: already started to even out prize money Wimbledon, the French Open, 721 00:49:49,480 --> 00:49:53,080 Speaker 1: the US Open. There's a business case to be made 722 00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:56,479 Speaker 1: to invest more in women's soccer. The Men's World Cup 723 00:49:56,600 --> 00:50:00,200 Speaker 1: is likely only to grow incrementally in the future. It's 724 00:50:00,200 --> 00:50:04,760 Speaker 1: already a ratings behemoth. However, there's a lot of growth 725 00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:09,160 Speaker 1: left on the women's side. Want proof. In two thousand 726 00:50:09,160 --> 00:50:14,160 Speaker 1: and twenty two, fans crowded into camp No Stadium in 727 00:50:14,160 --> 00:50:19,600 Speaker 1: Barcelona for a semifinal match between Barcelona and Wolfsburg, breaking 728 00:50:19,640 --> 00:50:23,560 Speaker 1: the record set back in at the Women's World Cup final. 729 00:50:24,280 --> 00:50:29,080 Speaker 1: Barcelona FC has poured money into their women's team and 730 00:50:29,120 --> 00:50:35,120 Speaker 1: the results speak for themselves. Serious investment by others would 731 00:50:35,200 --> 00:50:40,759 Speaker 1: likely lead to greater revenues, which FIFA should one. There's 732 00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:43,440 Speaker 1: still a lot of frustration in the women's soccer community 733 00:50:43,440 --> 00:50:46,360 Speaker 1: that not only did FIFA not support women soccer for decades, 734 00:50:46,400 --> 00:50:50,320 Speaker 1: there's still not doing nearly enough to make the Women's 735 00:50:50,360 --> 00:50:54,360 Speaker 1: World Cup into the type of money making extravaganza that 736 00:50:54,400 --> 00:50:58,080 Speaker 1: they did with the Men's World Cup. However, Gianni Infantino 737 00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:01,640 Speaker 1: is just as dismissed of the women's game as his 738 00:51:01,760 --> 00:51:06,360 Speaker 1: predecessors were defending the pay and balance by sarcastically saying 739 00:51:06,800 --> 00:51:10,520 Speaker 1: maybe one day women's football will generate more than men's football. 740 00:51:11,400 --> 00:51:13,960 Speaker 1: Not only is that unlikely to happen given the sheer 741 00:51:14,040 --> 00:51:17,640 Speaker 1: popularity of a men's game, but FIFA and its regional 742 00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:20,960 Speaker 1: partners around the world are still actively working to prevent 743 00:51:21,000 --> 00:51:25,440 Speaker 1: any real investment in the women's sport. Local federations like Conka, 744 00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:28,960 Speaker 1: Caffe or come Bowl or only asked to spend fIF 745 00:51:30,320 --> 00:51:34,040 Speaker 1: of the nine million dollar global development budget on the 746 00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:38,280 Speaker 1: women's game. Mary Harvey, the former US goalie and FIFA 747 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:42,080 Speaker 1: development official, belies FIFA should have treated the women's game 748 00:51:42,080 --> 00:51:45,120 Speaker 1: in the late nine nineties similar to a growth stock 749 00:51:45,440 --> 00:51:49,200 Speaker 1: like Google or Amazon. I think it could be much bigger, 750 00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:52,080 Speaker 1: or it could have been bigger faster if maybe it 751 00:51:52,120 --> 00:51:56,760 Speaker 1: had been treated as a high growth opportunity earlier. FIFA, 752 00:51:56,880 --> 00:52:00,640 Speaker 1: though a humble nonprofit on paper, has proven at the 753 00:52:00,760 --> 00:52:03,560 Speaker 1: end of the day, it cares most about maximizing profit, 754 00:52:04,200 --> 00:52:07,800 Speaker 1: so it's never too late to embrace that investment strategy. 755 00:52:08,160 --> 00:52:11,520 Speaker 1: It's very clear that FIFA is leaving money on the table. 756 00:52:11,640 --> 00:52:16,800 Speaker 1: They haven't maximized what's out there potentially for the Women's 757 00:52:16,840 --> 00:52:20,240 Speaker 1: World Cup and in the sport on a regular basis. 758 00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:24,560 Speaker 1: I think Mary Harvey said it best. A corrupt organization 759 00:52:24,680 --> 00:52:28,240 Speaker 1: busy stuffing money into its suit pockets is not investing 760 00:52:28,320 --> 00:52:32,600 Speaker 1: wisely in the future. But that can change. The potential 761 00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:35,160 Speaker 1: growth on the women's side is not just in revenue, 762 00:52:35,239 --> 00:52:41,120 Speaker 1: but in goodwill, in karma. FIFA, bruised and battered by scandal, 763 00:52:41,719 --> 00:52:43,520 Speaker 1: has a chance to do the right thing in a 764 00:52:43,560 --> 00:52:48,120 Speaker 1: global way. That's not just good public relations, it's just 765 00:52:48,280 --> 00:52:52,640 Speaker 1: playing good and that, more than anything, is what the 766 00:52:52,680 --> 00:52:56,920 Speaker 1: beautiful game needs now. And the thing is, the calls 767 00:52:56,920 --> 00:52:59,960 Speaker 1: for change aren't going to stop. In February of two 768 00:53:00,080 --> 00:53:03,360 Speaker 1: thousand and twenty two, US Soccer and the women's national 769 00:53:03,400 --> 00:53:06,759 Speaker 1: team reached an agreement to pay four million dollars in 770 00:53:06,840 --> 00:53:10,520 Speaker 1: back pay and to close the pay gap between the 771 00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:15,160 Speaker 1: men's and women's sides. The agreement settles a gender discrimination 772 00:53:15,239 --> 00:53:18,960 Speaker 1: lawsuit filed in two thousand and nineteen, and it puts 773 00:53:19,000 --> 00:53:22,799 Speaker 1: the onus on FIFA to either equalize pay between the 774 00:53:22,840 --> 00:53:26,680 Speaker 1: men's and women's teams or force the US men's side 775 00:53:26,920 --> 00:53:29,240 Speaker 1: to take a pay cut to make up the gap, 776 00:53:30,160 --> 00:53:32,759 Speaker 1: though it remains to be seen how this will play out. 777 00:53:34,280 --> 00:53:37,319 Speaker 1: This kind of pressure is needed, Michelle Laker says, to 778 00:53:37,480 --> 00:53:41,240 Speaker 1: force FIFA to reckon with its past discrimination of women. 779 00:53:41,920 --> 00:53:44,760 Speaker 1: They should be uncomfortable, they should change, and I shouldn't 780 00:53:44,800 --> 00:53:48,239 Speaker 1: have to ask for that. Change doesn't happen unless it 781 00:53:48,480 --> 00:53:53,880 Speaker 1: makes people uncomfortable, unless it's demanded, unless it's radicalized. Almost 782 00:53:54,400 --> 00:53:58,400 Speaker 1: you have to force change. You can't be nice about 783 00:53:58,960 --> 00:54:04,680 Speaker 1: asking for equality. For me to even say ask for 784 00:54:04,800 --> 00:54:11,799 Speaker 1: equality is just ridiculous. On the next episode of the 785 00:54:11,840 --> 00:54:14,560 Speaker 1: Lords of Soccer, the eyes of the world are on Qatar, 786 00:54:15,040 --> 00:54:17,320 Speaker 1: the host of the two thousand and twenty two Men's 787 00:54:17,320 --> 00:54:21,880 Speaker 1: World Cup. The tiny nation is furiously building infrastructure to 788 00:54:21,960 --> 00:54:26,560 Speaker 1: handle the tournament, but at a horrific cost. Is FIFA 789 00:54:26,800 --> 00:54:29,200 Speaker 1: ready to own up to the scandal in the desert? 790 00:54:33,280 --> 00:54:36,479 Speaker 1: The Lords of Soccer, How FIFA Stole the Beautiful Game 791 00:54:36,920 --> 00:54:40,040 Speaker 1: is an Inside Voices Media production in conjunction with I 792 00:54:40,200 --> 00:54:44,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. The series was written and executive produced by 793 00:54:44,040 --> 00:54:48,920 Speaker 1: Gary Scott and me Connor Powell. Logan Heftel and Katie 794 00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:52,200 Speaker 1: mcmurran provided the sound design with assistance from j. C. 795 00:54:52,360 --> 00:54:56,840 Speaker 1: Swaddick and Jake blue Note. Alec Cowen is our associate producer, 796 00:54:57,239 --> 00:55:00,880 Speaker 1: and Jeffrey Katz was our story editor. Fact checker is 797 00:55:00,920 --> 00:55:04,800 Speaker 1: Alexa O'Brien, and thanks to Miles Gray, who produced the 798 00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:07,800 Speaker 1: series for I Heart Radio. If you have any comments 799 00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:11,080 Speaker 1: or questions, please reach out. You can find us on Twitter. 800 00:55:11,560 --> 00:55:16,160 Speaker 1: I'm at Connor M. Powell and Gary is at Gary 801 00:55:16,280 --> 00:55:19,440 Speaker 1: Robert Scott and if you have any stories about FIFA, 802 00:55:20,080 --> 00:55:22,880 Speaker 1: let us know. If you like what you hear, please 803 00:55:23,200 --> 00:55:26,040 Speaker 1: give us a shout out at the hashtag Lords of 804 00:55:26,080 --> 00:55:26,440 Speaker 1: Soccer