Hello, Meg here, and it's just me today, but you're listening to a show all about women's soccer on the Athletic Podcast Network.

It is Monday, July 26th, and it's match day minus one ahead of the final day of group stage matches at the Tokyo Olympics.

I figured today's episode was the perfect time to actually take a step back and check in with everything else that has been

happening at the same time of the Olympics. I mean, everything is happening all of the time.

That is what we come to expect for women's soccer, but a ton of news around the NWSEL,

plus the 28 U.S. women's national team players have filed their appeal in the equal pay lawsuit,

and that's worth some time as well. Don't worry, I will still have a quick preview of

tomorrow's games for you, too. Before I get into it, you can subscribe to The Athletic

for all of our women's soccer coverage and beyond, and there's always a deal for you at

theathletic.com slash full-time. Let's start with the latest in the Equal Pay

legal saga. This will be a relatively short version, at least my attempt at a relatively short

version of the first step in the appeal from the players. If you want the full breakdown, my story

from Friday is up at the athletic, but here are

basically the major beats. First, I do want to start with a quick refresher, though. Just a reminder that

the 28 players who are now appellants in this case do not equal the U.S. Women's National Team Players

Association, though, of course, there is some overlap of those players.

But the PA is not a direct party to the lawsuit, though at the same time they are starting to wind up for CBA negotiations with U.S. soccer since the current agreement ends December 31st.

Yes, I know it's slightly confusing. But the equal pay dispute goes back decades, really,

but this particular version goes back to a complaint filed in 2016 with the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission that was originally filed by five players. Four are involved in this lawsuit.

Hope Solo is the difference there. But then the EEOC granted the players the right

to sue the Federation. That happened in March 2019. Last spring in May, the district court,

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