The "positive" talks have been held in Chicago and Washington DC and will carry on this month.

"The discussions, which have included equalizing FIFA World Cup Prize money and a first-ever framework for revenue sharing as part of each respective labour agreement, are complex and require significant due diligence from all parties," US Soccer said in a statement.

"Nevertheless, we feel we are closer to reaching agreements on these issues than ever before.

"To ensure adequate time to reach a fair and equitable agreement, the parties have mutually agreed to continue negotiations into April, with the goal of reaching an agreement as soon as possible.”

The United States Women’s National Team Players Association repeated US Soccer’s confidence that a new CBA can be agreed to.

"Our players remain committed to bargaining in good faith towards a new and historic collective bargaining agreement with equality and fairness at its core," the Players Association commented.

It added: "We remain hopeful that the parties can reach the right agreement and encourage US Soccer to continue its progress into a new era."

The two parties announced last month that they had reached a settlement of $24 million (£18.4 million/€22 million) plus bonuses equalling those of men to close a six-year legal dispute over alleged wage discrimination, but this agreement was dependent on a new CBA being approved.

The settlement included the players splitting $22 million (£16.9 million/€20.2 million) - around one-third of what they sought in damages - and a $2 million (£1.5 million/€1.8 million) fund to aid athletes in their post-playing careers.

The National Federation also committed to providing equal wages for both the US men’s and women’s teams for all friendly matches and tournaments.

In December of that year, the women’s national team reached a settlement with US Soccer over equal work conditions, such as travel, staffing, accommodation and playing surfaces.

One of the biggest obstacles has been the distribution of FIFA prize money between the two teams, for which US Soccer has blamed the huge difference in pay between the men's national team and the women's national team.

An estimated total of $400 million (£307 million/€367 million) was split between the 32 teams that competed at the previous edition of the men’s World Cup in 2018.

In contrast, the 24 women's teams in the 2019 World Cup received around $30 million (£23 million/€27 million) - 7.5 per cent of the figure the men’s teams received.

Players from the women’s national team, led by Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe, sued US Soccer in 2019 for alleged gender discrimination because of unequal bonuses between the men’s and women’s national teams.

They had sought $66 million (£50 million/€60 million) in damages.

A judge dismissed the lawsuit, but the players appealed and oral arguments were due to start in March, before the settlement was struck.