Women’s World Cup a global paradigm shift for women’s sports – USWNT’s Megan Rapinoe

United States women’s national team forward Megan Rapinoe said the upcoming Women’s World Cup feels like a “paradigm shift,” but that women’s sports continue to face challenges in terms of equality.

“I think just in general, women’s sports right now feels like we’re sort of out of just the dogged fight phase. Not that there’s not a lot still to fight for,” Rapinoe told reporters on Tuesday as the USWNT gear up for the training camp prior to the July 20 to Aug. 20 event in Australia and New Zealand.

Rapinoe and the USWNT led efforts for equal prize money between the men’s and women’s teams, which led to a new collective bargaining agreement, better benefits and more equal travel arrangements.

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“It feels like a real opportunity to blow the lid off just in terms of fanfare and media and sponsorships and the sort of larger business around this sport,” Rapinoe said, adding that it “feels almost like a show up and show out kind of vibe.

“I think everyone is sort of hip to the game now and understands that this is not somewhere that’s just like, oh, we should cheer for the Women’s World Cup because that’s the right thing to do.

“It is actually terrible business if you are not tuning in, you are missing out on a…