Some NWSL players are paid just $16,538 a season compared to the $56,250 wages of MLS rookies, which Dorrance says is a threat to the USA’s dominance

The USWNT will lose its status as the best team in the world if the “starvation wages” in their domestic league are not addressed, according to former Women’s World Cup-winning coach Anson Dorrance. 

USA won a fourth Women’s World Cup title in Lyon on Sunday, retaining the trophy with a 2-0 victory over Netherlands after knocking out European heavyweights France and England in the previous two rounds.

Megan Rapinoe, the tournament’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball winner, once again spoke about the disparity in prize money between the women’s and men’s finals afterwards, with the USWNT players taking home $4 million (£3.2m) compared to the $38m (£30.4m) France accrued for winning the men’s World Cup in Russia last year.

There is also a huge gap between the top domestic leagues in America, where the minimum and maximum salaries for this NWSL season are $16,538 (£13,240) and $46,200 (£36,989) respectively, compared to the minimum in MLS of $56,250 (£45,036) and the maximum, which will be paid to LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, of $7.2m (£5.8m).

Each of the 23 players in Jill Ellis’ World Cup-winning squad ply their trade in NWSL – though their salaries are subsidised by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) and include payments for their international feats – and former USWNT coach Dorrance wants greater investment at the professional level.

Dorrance, who led the USWNT to their maiden World Cup triumph in 1991 and coached the likes of Crystal Dunn and Tobin Heath at the collegiate level in his current role at North Carolina, told Omnisport: “An entry-level professional is paid $16,500 a year in the NWSL. That’s starvation wages. 

“I would love to see more and more women start to make the sort of money we’re seeing on the men’s side.”

While the USWNT were able to see off the challenge of the Europeans this time, the other seven World Cup quarter-finalists all came from the continent and the balance of power may have shifted by 2023.

There has been increased investment in the women’s game in Europe in recent years, major clubs like Lyon, Barcelona, Juventus and Manchester City all significantly backing their women’s teams.

“We’re going to be in trouble if we don’t create a league that competes with what the Europeans are doing now,” added Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, who was a key member of the World Cup-winning team in 1991.

“Hats off to us at this point, [but] I’m hoping we can create something from this momentum and make it so we don’t have to worry about that.”

Rapinoe said after USWNT’s win on Sunday that FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who had revealed plans to double the prize money for the next Women’s World Cup, wants to speak to her about the financial matters after fans chanted “equal pay” at the final.

There will also be conversations between USSF and Ellis’ players over the pay gap between USA’s men’s and women’s teams, with the newly crowned World Cup winners having instigated legal action against the federation earlier this year for alleged gender discrimination over earnings and working conditions.

Dorrance wants to see equality, but also greater transparency over the revenue generated by the two teams given reports suggest the women bring in more than their male counterparts.

“[The USFF should] have a very transparent set of accounting books to show exactly what happens,” Dorrance added.

“This is how many people watched this Women’s World Cup game in the United States, here were the sponsorship dollars and here’s how we’re going to reward our women that have just won the event. I would love for that to become clearer.

“In terms of per diem, there should be no difference, those should be the same, then your rewards should be based on what you make.

“I don’t think all of a sudden these women should be paid the amount of money Christian Pulisic is paid [by Chelsea] because of the crowd he’s played in front of at Borussia Dortmund and what he will play in front of at Chelsea.

“But I would love for it to be transparent and for them to be paid what they’re worth.”

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The new format will also see two Concacaf sides face off for the region’s intercontinental playoff spot

Concacaf is going to get straight to the good stuff for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. 

The Hexagonal, previously the final round of a longer qualification process, will begin in September 2020, with the six highest-ranked Concacaf teams in the post-June 2020 FIFA rankings taking part. The top three teams from round-robin play will qualify for Qatar. 

Simultaneously, competition between the 7-35 ranked members of Concacaf will begin with a group stage (comprised of five groups of four teams and three groups of three). The eight group winners will move into a knockout stage. Those teams will play two-legged contests in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final with the winner of that tournament taking on the fourth-place finisher from the Hex for the right to take part in the intercontinential playoff for Concacaf’s potential fourth World Cup slot. 

The qualifiers will begin in the September 2020 FIFA window with more matches taking place in October 2020, November 2020, March 2021 and September 2021. The playoff between the fourth-place Hex finisher and the winner of the tournament involving lower-ranked teams will be in the October 2021 FIFA window.  

Currently, Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Honduras and El Salvador make up the top six Concacaf teams in the FIFA rankings, meaning 2018 World Cup participant Panama is among the teams that would need to qualify through the second portion of the competition. So too would Haiti after its run to the Gold Cup semifinals. However, those rankings were last updated in the middle of June rather than after Concacaf’s most important tournament. 

The changes are intended to place more importance and a bigger sense of occasion on each match. It also will give teams more matches overall. Previously, teams in the lower rungs of the confederation would play a few matches in World Cup qualification each cycle and then sit idle for four years.

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Now, with the Nations League set to begin in September and the qualification format modified, the lower-ranked teams will be playing more frequent official matches. They’ll also, however, face a long road to earn a single slot to potentially qualify for the World Cup with a group stage plus winning five home-and-away ties if they’re going to make the sport’s biggest stage.

“The love for the game in this region is growing rapidly and our diverse and dynamic communities want a clear pathway to world-class football. Through our freshly designed formats — across FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Concacaf Nations League and Concacaf Gold Cup — we are staging more competitive international matches than ever before to help these communities fulfill their potential,” Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said in a news release.  
  
“This new FIFA World Cup qualifying format, based on the FIFA rankings, makes every competitive match count. Alongside the Concacaf Nations League, and our expanded Gold Cup, it will raise standards of play to unprecedented levels and develop the sport across the region, making the leading Concacaf nations stronger on the global stage, while giving our emerging footballing nations the chance to pursue their dreams of playing at a World Cup. 

After a four-window qualification process, the Nations League proper begins in September, one year before the start of the World Cup qualification cycle. The timing and site for the World Cup qualification draw will be announced later this year. 

The Spaniard put pen to paper on a new two-year deal at Old Trafford last month and insists he always “wanted to commit” his future to the club

Juan Mata says he decided to sign a contract extension at Manchester United because it is a “special club” and he already has his sights on winning major trophies next season.

The Spain international’s future was the subject of much speculation over the last few months, amid reports of an impasse in negotiations over a new deal.

The 31-year-old was due to become a free agent on July 1, but despite rumours of a possible switch to Barcelona, he agreed to fresh terms at the Theatre of Dreams last month and will now remain at the club until 2021.

Mata joined United from Chelsea in 2013 and has since managed to rack up over 200 appearances for the club, scoring 45 goals across all competitions.

The midfielder has picked up FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League winners’ medals during his time at Old Trafford, standing out in a team which has faced a great deal of criticism.

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Ahead of the Red Devils’ pre-season tour of Australia, Mata explained his reasons for staying in Manchester, despite facing “difficult moments” in recent years.

“There were many things, the first thing is the feeling of belonging to this club, it’s something special, unique,” he told MUTV.

“We know there are three or four big clubs in Europe and United is one of them. Despite it not being the best moment in our history, even though we have won trophies, that feeling of waking up every day and feeling like a Red Devil is unbelievable so I wanted to keep feeling that.

“I wanted to stay, I wanted to keep giving my best to bring United where it belongs. I’ve been here more than five years and I realise how amazing the supporters are even in the tough moments.

“So I cannot imagine if we win a big trophy how it would be, how the town will change red. I imagine myself in that situation so that is another reason why I wanted to stay.

“I’ve lived difficult moments but I am really looking forward to living great moments with this club.

“Despite all that I wanted to stay. I wanted to commit to the club and keep enjoying wearing this shirt and keep trying my best.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side finished sixth in the Premier League last term, missing out on Champions League qualification and silverware after securing only two wins from their final 12 matches.

United have opted to chase young, homegrown talent in the transfer window in order to strengthen, with Welsh winger Daniel James and England defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka drafted in from Swansea and Crystal Palace, respectively.

Solskjaer is expecting to add one or two extra players to his ranks before the market closes and Southampton’s Mario Lemina is among United’s potential targets after expressing his desire to leave St Mary’s.

The club’s technical director claims that their interest has never gone any further than admiration.

Paolo Maldini insists AC Milan did not make an offer for Luka Modric this close season, although he admits the Real Madrid man would be “perfect” at San Siro.

Modric is expected to stay at Madrid, where he has been since 2012, but the 33-year-old was linked with moves to Inter last year and rivals Milan in recent months.

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Maldini, acknowledging the midfielder’s blend of experience and talent, says there was never any negotiation for the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner.

“We never negotiated for Modric, but we’ve said to [coach Marco] Giampaolo this club are looking for good young players and some experienced ones,” Rossoneri technical director Maldini told a news conference.

“The growth of young players takes place through the presence of experienced players. Modric would be perfect here, but we’ve never negotiated for him.”

Maldini was speaking alongside Rade Krunic and Theo Hernandez as they were presented as Milan players on Friday.

Hernandez, a left-back just as Maldini was in his playing days, was delighted to have joined Milan.

“It is a real honour to be sitting next to [Maldini],” Hernandez said. “He will always be the best full-back in the world.

“We met in Ibiza, where he had some very beautiful and sincere words for me. Since then, I have had the desire to join Milan. I trained hard to succeed and in the end I did it.”

Krunic, a Bosnia and Herzegovina international midfielder, joined after spending four seasons with Empoli. 
 

The Venezuelan continued his goalscoring run as the defending champions thrashed 10-man Houston on Wednesday

Josef Martinez continued his prolific form in a resounding win for Atlanta United, while Jozy Altidore scored a stunning goal for Toronto in MLS action on Wednesday.

Martinez netted a brace as defending champions Atlanta crushed the 10-man Houston Dynamo 5-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

After Alberth Elis was sent off in just the sixth minute for making contact with the referee, Darlington Nagbe got the scoring started for the hosts before Brandon Vazquez’s close-range header made it 2-0.

Martinez’s header from a Julian Gressel cross extended Atlanta’s lead on the hour-mark before the Venezuelan finished brilliantly again 19 minutes later.

The striker has scored six goals in four games since returning from the Copa America, while Gressel sealed Atlanta’s win.

Frank de Boer’s men moved into second in the Eastern Conference, sitting three points behind leaders Philadelphia Union.

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At BMO Field, Altidore’s fine goal led Toronto to a 3-1 win over New York Red Bulls.

Altidore produced a brilliant flick from a Tsubasa Endoh cross to give the hosts the lead before Alejandro Pozuelo’s penalty.

Tom Barlow pulled a goal back for the Red Bulls in the 63rd minute, but Ashtone Morgan’s strike helped lift Toronto into sixth in the east.

Elsewhere, the New England Revolution hammered the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0 and the Columbus Crew twice came from behind to salvage a last-gasp 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire.

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6th Sep 2019

Rocking and shocking consumers is the bedrock on which the fashion world has been built: clothes polarise buyers, shoes arouse divisive emotional connections and accessories  tug at our purse strings until we commit to invest. But there is at least one agreeable fashion truth that cannot be overstated: no item of clothing has endured as affectionately since its introduction as the inimitable pair of jeans.

Though they need no introduction (and likely predominate most of our wardrobes), tackling a legacy that dates back to 1873, when jeans originated, is no small feat. And, while it is true that Instagram has facilitated a new class of emerging digital-native designers to take to the international stage, encouraging shoppers to wear in a new pair of jeans from an unknown label is a lofty challenge most designers would shy away from.

But not husband and wife Anton and Ksenia Schnaider, whose novel approach to denim has helped their brand, Ksenia Schnaider, to cut through the noise. After launching in 2011, the designer duo pivoted from silk and wool and began toying with old denim, releasing their first pair in 2015. Their weird and wonderful wares – asymmetrical jeans and demi-denims (a style made famous by Bella Hadid where two pairs of denim are layered over one another) – immeditately caught the attention of retailers like Selfridges and raremarket and precipitated a cult following that counts Celine Dion and Gigi Hadid as fans.

Now, the designers chat to Vogue about their circular design process, the importance of sustainability and the gamut of references as unexpected as their offerings (from meme culture to modern art) that serve as inspiration for their jeans.

Born of Ksenia’s personal love of the material (“it’s my daily wear; I’m a denim girl”), and the now husband and wife’s budding relationship (“we started dating, then we started living together [and] slowly we started working together”), Ksenia Schnaider’s foray into denim began with two pairs of old jeans, which Ksenia stitched together to make them anew. 

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“It became a meme on the Internet, on Instagram, and lots of influencers started [sending] direct messages,” she explains, recalling that Selfridges came flocking first. “They said: ‘we need more denim than one style. We need denim jackets, denim skirts’ and so on… So I came back to Kiev and started searching for denim manufacturers,” Ksenia explains. This modern beginning cultivated the designers’ interests in the intersections between social media, advertising and  fashion, with Anton citing “a mix of internet culture and contemporary art and just the area around us” as key sources of inspiration. 

Ksenia Schnaider pre-fall 2019. Image credit: Ksenia Schnaider

The result is an approach to denim that plays up the mundane and pays homage to the brand’s unconventional digital start (the label has amassed nearly 55,000 Instagram followers). “We always try to recreate basic jeans and to invent something new,” explains Ksenia. “New silhouettes, like asymmetrical jeans or demi-denims… We do patchwork, and we also work with denim leftovers… we like to make [denim] fun, to put irony on everything,” she continues.

And to make content that is extremely meta too. For their campaigns, the designers consult key influencers and models to style and capture their look books, with every image featuring a model mid-selfie becoming an instant identifier of the brand. 

Ksenia Schnaider pre-fall 2019. Image credit: Ksenia Schnaider

Though their output is always creative and tongue-in-cheek, it’s never without consideration of the brand’s environmental impact and its potential to educate, especially in their native Ukraine. “Ukrainian people are a little bit unaware of recycled materials, recycled polyester or vintage denim, so they still need to learn about it,” admits Ksenia, who together with Anton has started local clean-up initiatives and hosted roundtables to highlight issues of sustainability.

“We recycle lots of old, vintage denim that [the designers] source from different second hand markets,” the brand’s publicist, Ilona Kyslova, explains with the designers over the phone, noting that 30% of their collections is made of recycled denim. “They use materials from their previous collection; all the leftovers,” she adds. Anton echoes the designers’ resourcefulness, which remains tethered to a fashion focus: “we want to find balance between sustainability and fashion-forward thinking. We want to combine it.”  

As Ksenia Schnaider look to the future, expanding their offerings with each season and persuading consumers to be more adventurous with their denim style, their mission is both simple and environmentally-viable. “We always try to think about the person who will wear it and how he or she will feel… [When you wear Ksenia Schnaider] you should feel cool and fashionable but without any effort.” 

The Italian great talked up a potential move to the Serie A side for the Manchester United forward, who he thinks fits the club’s manager perfectly

Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku is an “ideal” signing for Antonio Conte’s Inter, according to Gianfranco Zola.

Inter head coach Conte has made no secret of his desire to sign Lukaku, who is at the centre of ongoing and, so far, fruitless negotiations between the Serie A side and United.

Lukaku – contracted to the Red Devils until 2022 with the option of a further year after joining from Everton in a £75million deal in 2017 – has not played for United during their pre-season tour.

Zola witnessed Lukaku firsthand during his time as Chelsea assistant last season and the Italian great talked up the Belgium striker’s potential move to Milan.

“Lukaku would make a big impact at Inter, as he has the ideal characteristics for Conte’s football and has the kind of physicality from the Premier League that puts him a step above the rest in Serie A,” he told FCInterNews.

“Having said that, I believe the real strength at Inter will be Conte himself. He’s really fired up after the Chelsea experience and then taking a year off. He’ll want to transmit that determination to the squad.

“We know how good Antonio is at transmitting grit, intensity and sporting aggression. I am sure Inter will be one of the principle antagonists to Juventus this season.”

Lukaku, who has acknowledged a desire to play in Italy and hinted his future could be away from Old Trafford with United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer preferring Marcus Rashford up front, scored 12 Premier League goals last season.

The 26-year-old scored 15 goals across all competitions as United finished sixth in the Premier League and lost to Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals. 

He has also earned the public backing of Conte as a player the manager would like to have with him in Serie A. 

“He is a United player and for this reason we must show great respect for the club, for the player and also for my own players,” he told a media conference earlier this month . 

“Lukaku is a player that I like because I consider him a player that could improve our team.

“On one side is my will and my hope. On the other side we will see what we find with the club.”

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The 29-year-old felt it was time for a move in search of more playing time as he hopes to keep his England career going

Fabian Delph says he made the decision to leave Manchester City in hopes of boosting his chances of playing for England. 

Delph completed an £8.5 million ($11m)​ move to Everton last week, ending a four-year run with the City side he joined in the summer of 2015. 

Having won the Premier League twice with the Manchester club, Delph made the decision to leave in search of more regular playing time this summer, with Everton his landing spot heading into the new season as he hopes to keep his place in the England squad. 

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“From a personal point of view, I felt it was time for a change,” he said to The Daily Mail. “I could have stayed there. They were happy with me. I wasn’t told to leave. I played quite a key role within that squad.

“I had a fantastic four years there, thoroughly enjoyed it, but I wanted a new challenge. I wanted to play more football.

“Playing for England is massive for me, so if I’m playing more regularly, there’s more chance of me being selected.

“I’ve got a great relationship with Gareth [Southgate] and the England lads, we’re a really close group. The mentality there is fantastic.”

Delph has been a regular for England under Southgate and started the Nations League semi-final loss to the Netherlands earlier this summer.

The move to Everton should offer a regular starting spot for the 29-year-old, though it also brings an adjustment to a new manager. 

And while Delph was impressed with Pep Guardiola’s style at his old club, he claims training under his new boss Marco Silva is tougher than it was with the Premier League champions. 

“The volume is a lot higher, we cover a lot more distance,” he said. “There’s a lot more intensity and you definitely feel like you’ve worked come the end of the day.

“I love it. There’s nothing worse for me than going home with energy.

“City’s training is very good, it’s shorter and sharper and is the way the manager likes the lads to play.”

Having drawn 0-0 with Wigan on Tuesday, Everton will take on Werder Bremen in a pre-season friendly on Aug. 3 before facing their first Premier League test of the season against Crystal Palace a week later.