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World Cup chance to 'blow lid off' business of women's sports: Rapinoe

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Rebecca BRYAN, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="US Women" s="" soccer="" players="" Alex="" Morgan="" and="" Megan="" Rapinoe="" cheer="" during="" a="" ticker="" tape="" parade="" celebrating="" the="" World="" Cup="" victory="" along="" Broadway="" in="" New="" July="" Justin="" EPA-EFE="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/06/28/20230628-world-cup-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>US Women&#x27;s soccer players Alex Morgan (L) and Megan Rapinoe (R) cheer during a ticker tape parade celebrating the team&#x27;s 2019 World Cup victory along Broadway in New York, New York, USA, July 10, 2019. Justin Lane, EPA-EFE/File.</figcaption></figure></div>LOS ANGELES -- US veteran Megan Rapinoe said the upcoming Women&#x27;s World Cup feels like a &quot;paradigm shift&quot; in the global business of women&#x27;s sports even as inequities persist.The fight for equal pay by Rapinoe and her US teammates was a backdrop to their 2019 World Cup triumph in France, eventually resulting in a collective bargaining agreement with US Soccer that included equal prize money between the men&#x27;s and women&#x27;s national teams and more equal benefits in areas including accommodation and travel.FIFA has guaranteed that ever player at next month&#x27;s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will earn at least $30,000, with the winners taking home $270,000.At a US media day on Tuesday, Rapinoe said there was still work to be done to ensure the world&#x27;s best women footballers are properly compensated, but there&#x27;s no doubt that the Women&#x27;s World Cup has arrived as one of the top sporting events in the world.&quot;I think, just in general, women&#x27;s sports right now feels like we&#x27;re sort of out of just the dogged fight phase,&quot; Rapinoe, who played on World Cup-winning teams in 2015 and 2019, said as the team gathered in California to begin final preparations for the tournament.&quot;It feels like a real opportunity to blow the lid off just in terms of fanfare and media and sponsorships and the sort of larger business around this sport.&quot;I think everyone is sort of hip to the game now and understands that this is not somewhere that&#x27;s just like, &#x27;Oh, we should cheer for the Women&#x27;s World Cup because that&#x27;s the right thing to do.&#x27;&quot;It is actually terrible business if you are not tuning in -- you are missing out on a large cultural moment ... this is the premier women&#x27;s sporting event in the world bar none and this is a paradigm shift globally, not just in the US.&quot;<div>- It&#x27;s infuriating -</div>Rapinoe acknowledged that progress didn&#x27;t mean there wasn&#x27;t &quot;still work to be done.&quot;Canada&#x27;s women remain locked in a labor dispute with their federation, with captain Christine Sinclair saying last week she expected at least a temporary solution to be reached before the World Cup squad departed.Jamaica&#x27;s World Cup side, meanwhile, has resorted to fund-raising campaigns as they prepared for the tournament because of a lack of resources from the federation.&quot;It&#x27;s infuriating,&quot; Rapinoe said. &quot;It just like doesn&#x27;t have to be like this. But I do think it&#x27;s getting better ... I think that there&#x27;s a lot more resources that these teams can tap into.&quot;The difference, she said, will be seen on the pitch in Australia and New Zealand.&quot;You&#x27;re going to see the best product on the field and that&#x27;s because players are going to be able to be put in a position to just focus on the game and go out there and provide the entertainment everybody wants.&quot;Rapinoe, the 2019 Ballon d&#x27;Or winner who helped the United States claim a fourth World Cup crown in 2019, is one of three players in the squad playing in a fourth World Cup.They&#x27;re joined by a wealth of young talent that includes 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson, 21-year-old Trinity Rodman and 22-year-old Sophia Smith, the 2022 National Women&#x27;s Soccer League Most Valuable Player.The Americans kick off their World Cup campaign against Vietnam in Auckland on July 22.© Agence France-Presse

US veteran Megan Rapinoe said the upcoming Women's World Cup feels like a 'paradigm shift' in the global business of women's sports.

World Cup chance to 'blow lid off' business of women's sports: Rapinoe

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World Cup chance to 'blow lid off' business of women's sports: Rapinoe

Rebecca BRYAN,

Agence France-Presse

Published Jun 28, 2023 05:53 PM PHT

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football

FIFA Women's World Cup

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