Seattle Sounders players wear T-shirts to protest Club World Cup prize money distribution
The Seattle Sounders players wore T-shirts before a match Sunday that read Club World Cup Ca h Grab to demand a share of the prize money for participating in the upcoming international tournament The Sounders one of teams set to play in the Club World Cup later this month wore the shirts before kickoff of their match against Minnesota United Major League Soccer s Players Association issued a announcement in solidarity with the protest FIFA s new tournament piles on to players ever-increasing workload without regard to their physical well-being In order to seize this additional calendar territory FIFA had to commit historic amounts of prize money to secure club and contestant participation the MLSPA report stated As a aftermath MLS will receive an unprecedented windfall Despite the windfall the league has refused to allocate a fair percentage of those funds to the players themselves The Sounders are among three MLS teams taking part in the Club World Cup along with Inter Miami and LAFC The tournament which features an expanded field of club teams from around the globe starts June and will be played across U S cities The Sounders will earn million as a club for participating in the tournament with a chance to win additional prize money from wins The MLSPA revealed the players have invited the league to discuss bonus terms but that MLS has failed to bring forward a reasonable proposal At this moment there is a provision of the collective bargaining agreement that caps how much prize money can go to players at million Major League Soccer declined to comment because negotiations with MLSPA are ongoing The Sounders starters posed for the pregame photo wearing the T-shirts which also announced Fair Share Now on the back It is the players who make the meeting workable It is the players who are lifting MLS up on the global stage the MLSPA stated in its announcement They expect to be treated fairly and with respect AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source
