New York (AFP)

Tens of thousands of people celebrated on Wednesday in New York, under a rain of confetti, the American women's national football team, just haloed its fourth world title.

Standing on a trailer, the world champions split the crowd to the sound of the fanfares that opened the way for them along Broadway, where heads of state, military and sportsmen have been marching for more than 130 years under confetti.

Part of the extreme south of Manhattan, they greeted their fans - including many girls wearing the Stars and Stripes' jersey - along a mile-long trail to the hotel. city, where Mayor Bill de Blasio was to symbolically hand over the keys to the city at a reception.

After the title celebrations, the return trip Monday from France and the tour of the interviews on Tuesday, the "19ers" (Nineteeners), as called forward Alex Morgan in reference to the vintage of their victory (2019), continued so their marathon.

In lack of sleep, many of them have admitted to adrenaline before this parade, their second after their victory at the World Cup-2015. At the time, never a team of American women's collective sport had yet had a parade in New York.

"There is no better place to celebrate" this new title, was excited, on the ESPN channel, Megan Rapinoe, the most charismatic player of the team.

In a few hours, she says she's already realized that coach Jill Ellis's interest in training was unprecedented. "2015 was incredible, but it seems to be so much bigger, so much more," she explained.

The four-star jerseys, symbolizing the four titles of world champions (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019) of the United States, have been struggling since Sunday.

According to Nike, the American team's official equipment supplier, the team's white jersey has broken the record of world-wide sales on the brand's official website, including clubs and national teams, and mixed men's and women's teams.

"It goes so much beyond sport," said Megan Rapinoe.

- "Equal pay!" -

More than any other women's team, that of the United States symbolizes the emergence of women's sport, but also the fight for parity between men and women, whose strength has multiplied in the #MeToo era.

"2015 launched this movement of which we are part", explained the thirty-year-old with the hair dyed in mauve, "that it is for the parity in the remunerations, the equality of the rights." It seems that it is a historical turning point, (. ..) one of those milestones. "

In March, the internationals attacked their federation to obtain the same premiums for women as for men.

Last week, FIFA President Gianni Infantino proposed doubling the envelope for players at the next Women's World Cup, which was $ 30 million this year, against 400 for the men's World Cup. 2018.

"The question is no longer whether we deserve it," said CNN midfielder Rose Lavelle, scorer in the final. "This conversation is no longer necessary, now is: what should we do?"

After New York and Broadway, where the crowd chanted the slogan "Equal pay!" (Equal pay), will the US team carry its message to the White House?

Even before the start of the competition, Megan Rapinoe, very critical of President Donald Trump, had assured that she would not set foot there. Mr. Trump told him that he would invite the team, whether they win the tournament or not, by accusing him of lacking patriotism.

"We have not thought about it yet," the US president said on Sunday after the Americans were crowned.

Megan Rapinoe reiterated her position Tuesday in an interview on CNN, saying that her teammates probably would not accept an invitation to the White House.

"I would not go," and I think that all the members of the team I spoke to explicitly about that would not go, "she said.

? 2019 AFP