The US women’s national soccer team will not be able to immediately appeal the case they lost in May over securing equal pay.

The reigning world champions had hoped to achieve pay parity with the men’s team, but were unsuccessful in their legal challenge.

And now they will have to wait to appeal the decision, however the team’s spokeswoman Molly Levinson insists they will pursue the case.

She said: "We intend to appeal the Court's decision which does not account for the central fact in this case that women players have been paid at lesser rates than men who do the same job."

Judge R. Gary Klausner of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, who threw out the team’s $66 million claim against their own federation, confirmed the team will have to wait until their other claims have been resolved at a trial which is due to begin on September 15.

As well as equal pay, the women are also taking legal action over matters such as unfair medical services, travel and training.

The team’s captain, Megan Rapinoe, has been extremely vocal for some time about why she believes her team deserve financial equality.

Previously speaking about the pay inequality, she said: "If we were under the men's contract, we would be making three times more.

"I think so many women can understand what this feeling is of going into a negotiation, knowing equal pay is not on the table, knowing anywhere close to your male counterparts is not even on the table."