World Cup presents 'paradigm shift' in women's game, says Rapinoe

LOS ANGELES : The World Cup will be a transformational moment for women's sport, U.S. forward Megan Rapinoe said on Tuesday, four years after a bitter pay dispute between her team and federation hung over their successful 2019 campaign.

The Americans are seeking an unprecedented third consecutive title at a time of major growth in the women's game, as FIFA believes the tournament in Australia and New Zealand is on track to be the most attended standalone women's sporting event ever.

"The sort of acceptable cognitive dissonance and just denial of what we actually are and how incredible women's sports are... those days are, you know, pretty much long gone. And that would be quite a tough and embarrassing position to still keep," said Rapinoe.

"It feels like this is a paradigm shift or a moment we'll look back to and say that nothing was ever the same after this Women's World Cup."

The 2019 Ballon d'Or winner was a leading voice in her team's equal pay dispute with U.S. Soccer and famously sparred with former U.S. President Donald Trump while competing in the 2019 tournament.

Rapinoe's circumstances could scarcely be more different this time around: The players and federation resolved their dispute in 2022 and when the U.S. World Cup squad was named last week, U.S. President Joe Biden offered a video message cheering the team on.

The domestic National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) saw a boost in ratings and attendance following the 2019 campaign and Rapinoe, who collected the Golden Boot and Ball in France, said she expects a ripple effect from this year's tournament.

"It feels like a real opportunity to kind of like blow the lid off just in terms of fanfare and media and sponsorships and the sort of larger business around this