The women’s team got equal pay but not everyone in US soccer is happy

In much of the soccer world, the US women’s team and players such as Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan are beloved superstars and powerful voices for equal rights.

Many in the rank-and-file of US Soccer don’t share that sentiment though. In their eyes, the US national teams – particularly the women – are bleeding the federation dry while leaving precious little for grassroots associations charged with overcoming the sport’s stagnation and decline among young players.

That’s one of the takeaways from last week’s US Soccer presidential election, in which incumbent Cindy Cone barely held onto her position – by a margin of 52.9% to 47.1% in the weighted-vote tally – after a strong insurgent campaign by Carlos Cordeiro, who had resigned just two years ago and handed the reins to then vice-president Cone.

Cone’s bloc of elite athletes and pro leagues barely held on to power against the state youth and adult associations along with a few other voting entities such as US Youth Soccer.

On the surface, supporting Cordeiro made little sense. His bungling ended when he took the fall for an insulting (and, given the rest of the case, wholly unnecessary) legal brief in the lawsuit brought by the US women’s team. It wasn’t his only misstep. He was clumsy in the spotlight, with comments more cringeworthy than anything Ricky Gervais could conjure. He dithered over the hiring of a new CEO who might have flagged that offensive brief or improved a work environment described as toxic. Recent revelations have shown the federation failed to react to reports of systemic abuse of women’s players from youth level to the pros. Cordeiro touted his ability to navigate the world of high finance, but there were hints of a sponsor revolt had he won.

Cone