Former US President Barack Obama has tweeted his congratulations to the US women's football team after their 2-0 triumph against the Netherlands at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France.
The national women's football team has won back-to-back World Cups and holds the record for the most number of wins - winning in the years 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019.
On Wednesday, a few thousand football fans lined up in the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan to celebrate the team's fourth FIFA World Cup win with a ticker tape parade.
Chants of equal pay for the team could be heard along the parade route.
The USWNT enjoys cheers of fans alongside New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday 10 July 2019 in a ticker tape parade celebrating their World Cup win. Source: SIPA USA/Gabriele Holtermann-Gorden
Mr Obama joined in the celebrations and posted a photo of himself with a custom jersey, congratulating and thanking 'America's best team' for being a strong inspiration for everyone across the country.
The win drew congratulatory messages from Michelle Obama, Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Tennis star Serena Williams and current US President Donald Trump.
Prior to the World Cup final, the team's co-captain Megan Rapinoe said that she would not visit the White House if her side won.
“We’re not gonna be invited,” Ms Rapinoe said. “I doubt it.”
The statement incurred an accusatory response from Mr Trump: "Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her and the team."
In an interview with CNN, Ms Rapinoe said that Mr Trump has an incredible responsibility as the chief of this country to take care of every single person in America, referring to the inequality faced by the exclusion of minority groups in the US.
“Your message is excluding people. You’re excluding me. You’re excluding people that look like me. You’re excluding people of colour. You’re excluding ... Americans that maybe support you,” she said. "You need to do better for everyone.”
“I would not go and every teammate that I’ve talked to explicitly about it would not go [to the White House],” Ms Rapinoe told host Anderson Cooper.
(Former) US President Obama poses with the 2015 Women's World Cup winning soccer team at the White House in Washington, DC on October 27 2015. Source: Getty Images/AFP/JIM WATSON
After their 2015 FIFA World Cup win, then President Obama honoured the women's national football team by inviting them to the White House where the team gifted him with a custom jersey with his name and the number 44 on the back, referring to him being the 44th President of the United States.
