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As World Cup fever sweeps the country, soccer star Hope Solo is hoping to make some drastic changes in how the sport is played — and regulated — in the U.S.


“Soccer in America has become the rich white kid’s sport,” Solo, the former goalkeeper for the U.S. women’s national team, said on the latest episode of the Women Rule podcast.

She ticked off a list of grievances against the U.S. Soccer Federation, the sport’s governing body, saying the costs it imposes to play in soccer clubs have “alienated” Latino, black and rural communities. From expensive coaching licenses to rising club fees, Solo maintained that barriers to participation have contributed to a lack of talent at the highest levels of the game.

“U.S. Soccer should be helping coaches get their licenses, should be helping youth players play on different clubs,” she said. “It’s sad. That’s why soccer in America is just a mess right now.”

“That is why we are not one of the best countries in the world on the men’s side — because we have alienated so many people,” she said, referring to the failure of the U.S. men’s team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Solo’s contract with U.S. Soccer was terminated after the 2016 Rio Olympics following comments she made deriding the Swedish national team — not the first time she drew controversy during her playing career — and she lost a bid this year to become USSF president.

But the goalie is continuing to fight for improvements to the sport on Capitol Hill. Her hope: some oversight from Congress over the federation, a nonprofit organization. While visiting Washington, Solo met with lawmakers to discuss the issue further.

“In this day and age, sports has become really political. There’s a lot of money within American football, within football, within every sport,” she said. “It’s really important to the [Senate] Commerce Committee, both Democrats, Republicans. … We need to right the ship.”

She also slammed the soccer federation over the amount of money it pays female athletes.

“If you look at the law, it’s mandatory that they pay us equally,” said Solo, who has one World Cup title and two Olympic gold medals under her belt. “And yet the federation gets away with not paying the women equally, and they push it through the court system.”

In 2016, Solo and four other U.S. women's national team players filed a federal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that the "women earned four times less than the men while performing demonstrably better" during recent World Cups, according to the filing. The team won the Women’s World Cup in 2015 and two times before that; the U.S. men have never won.

At the time, USSF pushed back against in a statement from its lawyers, saying there was no evidence the group was acting with a "discriminatory motive" or was in violation of the law. In April 2017, the U.S. women's national team reached an agreement with the soccer federation that included a base pay increase of more than 30 percent — though the team has not withdrawn its EEOC complaint.

“I have to put my faith in the EEOC that there will be a ruling very soon,” Solo said on the podcast.

With the latest news that North America will host the 2026 men’s World Cup, the soccer legend is hopeful the spotlight will spur change: “Now is the time to really ask some important questions and get things back on track.”

To hear more Hope Solo about her soccer career and the pressures on and off the field, listen to the full podcast here. Women Rule takes listeners backstage with female bosses for real talk on how they made it and what advice they have for women looking to lead.