They’ve already made Canadian soccer history, winning back-to-back Olympic medals, and inspired countless young girls to take up the game.

Now, with the groundbreaking step of forming a union, Canada’s top players are looking to leave an even bigger legacy for sport: the possibility for women to make a good living out of soccer. That’s something that has been far harder for female players than their male counterparts nationally and globally.

“The (veteran) players on our team have seen this progression of going from nothing to being able to earn somewhat of a decent living,” said Diana Matheson, who was with the team that struggled in 2008 and then found success with Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016.

“Now, we want it to be more stable for younger kids coming up so they know they can earn a living through soccer and not have to worry in the winter when the wages dry up and, hopefully, they don’t still have to go live with their parents into their 30s like some of us have had to do,” said the midfielder who stays with her parents in Oakville when she’s not playing for Canada or her professional team, the Washington Spirit.

The Canadian Women’s National Soccer Team Players’ Association, which will be officially created at a meeting in Toronto on Thursday, is the culmination of years of work by the core of the current national team and pro bono lawyers James Bunting and Maureen Littlejohn of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg.

It’s believed to be first women’s players’ union in Canada and it will represent the national team in negotiations over compensation and playing conditions, similar to the NHL players’ association in men’s hockey.

In the U.S., the women’s soccer players’ association has already been a vocal platform in the fight for gender equity. It’s locked in contract negotiations with the U.S. Soccer Federation and players have threatened to strike if they don’t get a compensation package equal to what the male players have.

Earlier this year, American players filed a suit against their governing body alleging wage discrimination and, before that, they launched a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario over the use of artificial turf during the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada arguing that the men’s elite game would never be played on it.

The American women most recently took their fight for equal pay and conditions to 60 Minutes on CBS saying they felt like “second-class citizens.”

“It’s an issue across the globe right now,” Matheson said about gender equity and women’s compensation in soccer. “They’re setting the example for us and for sure we think Canada can be a world leader in that as well and that’s definitely something we have our eye on.”

The Canadian Soccer Association has been tight-lipped about what the men make and the national women’s players admit they don’t actually know but, if it comes close to following global norms, it’s more than they make even though the women are the far better team.

What Erin McLeod — a two-time Olympic goalkeeper who now plays in Europe with the Swedish club team FC Rosengard — knows, is that men at her level of the game have a far different financial existence than she does.

“If I was a male player, I’d be able to retire with the money I’d be making,” said the 33-year-old who missed Rio because of her third knee surgery. “I’ve never been driven by the money but, sometimes, it’s almost like I have to close my eyes to it or else I’ll be bitter — there’s definitely big differences.”

Professional soccer has one of the largest prize money differentials in all of sport. The American women’s team, for example, earned $2 million for winning the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, significantly less than the $9 million the U.S. men’s team picked up for being knocked out in the round of 16 at their World Cup the year before.

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Canadian players say they’ve come a long way in their relationship with the Canadian Soccer Association. Its financial support of the 10-team National Women’s Soccer League in the U.S. has dramatically increased professional opportunities and it’s now possible for the national players who aren’t in university to play for a pro team six months of the year.

“I feel like we’re working together,” McLeod said.

But, until now, negotiations have been done on an ad hoc basis led by the team veteran’s, Christine Sinclair, Rhian Wilkinson, Matheson and McLeod. They are all in the 30s and, as they start to contemplate the eventual end of their playing careers, they want to make sure there’s a system in place to build on what they’ve already achieved.

“It’s our time to make sure, not just this generation, but the future of Canadian women’s soccer is in good hands,” McLeod said.