UP229 Cindy Parlow Cone

This week the US Soccer Federation (USSF) and the US Women’s National Team settled a six year fight over equal pay. The players will receive $24m. The USSF has promised to equalise pay between men’s and women’s national teams for all competitions, including the FIFA World Cup.Why is this happening now?Next week the USSF elects its next president, whose tenure will include the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. The two candidates are former president Carlos Cordeiro and today's guest, the acting president Cindy Parlow Cone, who took over two years ago, when Cordeiro was forced to resign after his legal team filed court documents that implied men are better than women, so should get more money.“…by ignoring the materially higher level of speed and strength required to perform the job of a Men's National Team (MNT) player. A reasonable juror could conclude that the job of MNT player requires materially different skill and more responsibility than plaintiffs’ job does, while also taking place under materially different working conditions,” .Cue a shitstorm: Coke, Visa, Nike et al took umbrage and Cordeiro walked, leaving the USSF in chaos. And that’s saying something, given the organisation was led by Chuck Blazer for thirty years, until he was flipped by the FBI as part of their FIFA corruption investigation…So Cone for Prez? Maybe…Given the context, Parlow Cone appears a shoe-in for president. But the word is that the election will be close. So this week’s news feels very strategic. After six years, the pay dispute is suddenly settled days before the election.Cone is a former US international player and has Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and every pro-women, equal pay supporting liberal member of the USSF selling her campaign across social and mainstream media under the banner of ‘forward not back’.But elections are not about the candidates, they’re about the voters. Read the threads that followed the news of this week’s equal pay settlement and you’ll meet the usual culture warriors doing their thing. Carlos Cordeiro’s campaign is focused on his business background and a plan for the grassroots development of the game in America, a key USSF constituency. We’ll see.If you're interested in sports business analysis and comment, follow @UnffclPrtnr on Twitter and join thousands of busy sports execs who receive the UP Newsletter every Thursday. Sign up via unofficialpartner.com Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.