The United States Soccer Federation is being dragged by fans after reports show that the bonus paid to former coach Jurgen Klinsmann for reaching the second stage of the 2014 World Cup was $500,000 while female national team coach Jill Ellis received $90,000 for winning the women’s World Cup.

The figures were obtained when the Federation filed its tax return for the year 2015/16. Ellis agreed to the terms of potential bonuses when she became coach in 2014. She renewed her contract after her success at the 2015 tournament. The new deal is expected to run through 2019 after the next tournament in France.

The tax records which are available on the USSF website showed that Ellis earned $216,407 so the bonus was about 42 per cent of her base salary. The total package was about $327,332. On the other hand, Klinsmann’s salary was $3,050,000 – the highest coaching salary in the history of the team in which he doubled as the technical director.

The $500,000 bonus was 18 per cent of his base salary. He received the bonus after the team qualified from the Group of Death that had Germany, eventual winners, and Portugal. The team crashed to Belgium in the knockout phase. The German tactician did not earn a bonus for the 2015/16 year as the $500,000 was for the 2014 World Cup effort, according to analysis of the tax filing. After a poor start to the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign, Klinsmann’s contract was ended after five and a half years.

The men’s event is known to generate more funds than the women tournament though. The female team received $225,450 in total package after the World Cup triumph while Clint Dempsey for instance earned $382,000 for his efforts at the World Cup. For winning the World Cup, Germany earned $35 million while the US women earned $2 million for their 2015 victory.