Women's Soccer

The U.S. women's soccer team has filed to appeal a district court decision handed down last week that dismissed its claims for equal pay, a spokesperson for the team said on Friday.

The team suffered an unexpected blow to their high-profile case against their federation when the court threw out the players' claims that they were under paid in comparison with the men's national team.

BARCELONA — Barcelona's women's team was officially declared champion of Spain's Liga Iberdrola on Friday after the national soccer federation's executive committee agreed to end all non-professional competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spain's women's soccer season is on the verge of being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with champions in each tier being declared based on the standings before the campaign was halted, the country's football federation (RFEF) has said.

Relegation will be scrapped this term as a result of the decision, which must be ratified by the RFEF executive committee on Friday, the governing body added in a statement on Wednesday.

SYDNEY — Matildas striker Sam Kerr says the COVID-19 crisis has wreaked havoc in the medium-term career planning for Australia's top women footballers, leaving them with a major tournament to play every year until 2024.

Kerr and her team mates would have been looking forward to a long break in the middle of next year but that slot will now be occupied by the Tokyo Olympics, postponed by a year because of the pandemic.

"This has put a real spanner in the works," Kerr told Fox Sports TV from lockdown in London, where she plays for Chelsea.

U.S. women's national soccer team co-captains Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe said they were shocked after their team's claims for equal pay were dismissed by a court.

The duo, who helped the U.S. to a record fourth World Cup title last year, said they planned to appeal the decision, after a California judge on Friday threw out the players' claims that they were underpaid in comparison with the men's team.

NEW YORK — The U.S. women's soccer team's claims for equal pay were dismissed by a court on Friday, handing a victory to the United States Soccer Federation.

Judge R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California threw out players' claims that they were under paid in comparison with the men's national team but allowed complaints of unfair medical, travel and training to proceed to trial.

LONDON — Women's soccer around the world is being held back due to a continuing lack of basic employment rights and standards at international competitions, a report from global players' union FIFPro has said.

The document, published on Wednesday, says that being a professional soccer player is still not a viable career option for women in many parts of the world, despite record attendances at matches over the past year.