It was in March that 28 players, the backbone of the team that became world champion this summer, sued their own union for, among other things, gender discrimination.

The union claims that the remuneration for both national teams is based on different collective agreements and that the salary structure looks different. The men's agreement is based on the number of international matches and is results-based, while the women's are based on health insurance and other benefits and the salaries earned in the national football league NWSL, writes AP.

The United States' four best-paid players are ladies

The union points out that four players: Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn during the period 2014 to 2019 earned more than any male player, even though the salary from NWSL is removed.

- The ladies chose to have a guaranteed salary of up to SEK 1.7 million per year, and in addition to that salary they receive game and tournament bonus and a large package of benefits. While the players in the men's team can earn bigger bonuses as they take greater risks as they will not receive any guaranteed money or benefits within their contract structure which is based on paying for the matches they play.

A male player had earned three times as much

The women players claim that a male player with the same success as the four women players had earned three times as much. The US ladies won the World Cup last summer while the men's national team didn't even reach the playoffs in Russia last year.

- This is the very definition of gender discrimination, which is unlawful. The union has repeatedly tried to distort its figures. False data blames Fifa and tries to manipulate the equation, but the math is simple: The results show an unequivocally large pay gap, says Molly Levinson, who represents the women players in the questions about the trial.

There is plenty of time left before the trial begins in Los Angeles on May 5. The conflict has been going on for several years and mediation attempts have failed.