United States women’s defender Tierna Davidson wants to see her team use its “influential voice” to advocate for equal treatment of female players in countries around the globe.
Davidson, who was on the USWNT that won the World Cup in France four years ago, was announced as the newest member of the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association on Monday.
While the U.S. women fought for and won its landmark equal pay agreement with U.S. Soccer last spring, Davidson believes there is more to be done.
“I think that now our eyes turn to, ‘OK, we’ve gotten a good foothold here in domestically and now what else can we do internationally?’ Whether it’s helping other international teams with their federations, whether it’s FIFA, CONCACAF, whomever needs to hear from us,” Davidson said.
“We’re a very influential voice and we’ve got a lot of power in that sense, and I think that we understand that, and we hope to harness that as much as possible.”
The women continue to advocate for better wages and treatment in the game both nationally and internationally as the team prepares for this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
In March, FIFA announced that the prize money for the WWC would total $150 million — a 300% increase over 2019, but still only about a third of the $440m the men got in Qatar 2022.
In 2019, 20-year-old Davidson was the youngest player on the U.S. roster that won the World Cup in France. She solidified her role on the team before injuring her knee last March and sitting out for a year. Finally healthy, she is fighting for a spot on the U.S. squad that will attempt to defend its two straight World Cup titles.
Davidson has also become a vocal leader for a union that scored big last year when U.S. Soccer agreed to a new collective bargaining that pays its men’s and women’s national teams equally, including a split of World Cup prize money.
Davidson replaces Sam Mewis, who opted to end her four-term tenure as vice president and treasurer after a serious injury that will keep her away from the team for the foreseeable future, on the USWNTPA. She joins Becky Sauerbrunn, who remains the association’s president, and Crystal Dunn, VP and secretary, on the leadership team.
“I’ve admired Tierna’s thoughtfulness, intelligence and composure from the first moment I met her,” Sauerbrunn said. “To have her as a player representative during this time of growth of the women’s game is hugely beneficial to all of us. As we continue to strive to improve global standards, having her strategic mind involved in the decision-making process will open new doors of possibility.”
