WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
A multi-racial U.S. squad heads to Women’s World Cup
A new era is dawning for the U.S. women’s national soccer team, as the most diverse squad the program has ever produced will pursue an unprecedented third consecutive title when the World Cup kicks off this month in Australia and New Zealand.
The squad represents a major shift from its early days and even more recent USA teams that were overwhelmingly white. Trinity Rodman will make her World Cup debut alongside veteran defender Crystal Dunn on a team that features seven Black players.
“The issue is partly about economics and partly about how hard it is to eliminate stereotypes people have about who can succeed at what sports,” said Jon Solomon, editorial director of the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program.
Retired USA goalkeeper Briana Scurry said, “for decades I was the only one of color on the roster that started.”
“(Now) you have players that are really making inroads and making impacts and impressions in more ways than one who are going to be there a long time because they’re very young,” she told Reuters.
Scurry’s penalty kick save in front of 90,185 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, helped the United States win the 1999 Cup, turning the team into idols for millions of American girls, in what was seen as a turning point for women’s sports.
That squad offered little representation for girls of color. Scurry said she struggled to secure endorsement deals after her heroics, as the only openly gay player and as a Black woman
“I was always going to be authentically me. I never hid that I was gay. I just was being who I am,” said Scurry, a Hall of Famer and the host of the “Counterattack” podcast.
Scurry now sees the diverse soccer landscape she had wanted to be part of, and feels gratified that her pursuit likely provided some inspiration. “It’s awesome because now other young girls think that they can, too.”
Dunn helped the United States to its fourth overall title in 2019, but said last month she struggled growing up to feel she belonged.
“It hasn’t been the easiest road, obviously,” Dunn told reporters. “There are moments where I felt like I needed to conform to the environment and say, ‘Okay, let me tone down who I am because I feel like there’s very few of us on this team.’”
Dunn was often the only Black starter for her country in the 2019 World Cup, then celebrated as the most diverse U.S. women’s squad.
“There’s so many more great young players out there that are more of a better mixture of what this country is,” said Scurry. “This country isn’t just white.”
YOUTH ACCESS
The increased diversity at the highest level of women’s U.S. soccer coincides with a multi-year effort to get more minority kids onto the pitch.
“It’s often difficult and takes time to widen the demographic pool of young players,” said Aspen Institute’s Solomon.
The institute’s most recent survey found that 39% of Hispanic and 20% of white students had played soccer in high school versus only 10% of Black students.
A U.S. Soccer Foundation survey in 2008 found that even as the game experienced tremendous national growth at the youth level, large swathes of the country were being left behind.
“We developed a strategy and a business plan that focused and made a priority of increasing access and opportunity for underrepresented populations, particularly children in underserved, underrepresented communities,” U.S. Soccer Foundation CEO Ed Foster-Simeon said in an interview.
The foundation has provided more than half a million children from “under-resourced” communities with free programs, building more than 600 “mini-pitches” designed for the youth game across the country.
While minority participation has improved “quite a bit,” Foster-Simeon said, “it’s nowhere near where we want it to be.”
The problem has not been limited to soccer.
Girls at predominantly white high schools typically see 82% of the athletic opportunities boys do, according to a Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) report last year. That figure falls to 67% in schools where students of color are the majority.
Girls of color are “short-changed” in school and club programs, said WSF research head Karen Issokson-Silver.
“Sport is a microcosm of society, so a lot of the things that we see in society, whether that’s systemic racism or archaic gender norms … then you are likely to see them in sport,” she said.
WSF’s Sports 4 Life program, founded nine years ago in conjunction with espnW – the cable network’s women’s sports branch – works to increase participation for girls of color.
The chance to see a World Cup team with many diverse players will play a part for the next generation, said Issokson-Silver.
“When it comes to girls having an opportunity to see what’s possible for themselves, that kind of visibility, whether it’s a high school level, the collegiate level or… at the elite levels of play is monumental,” she said.
That message is not lost on the women of the 2023 U.S. national team.
“Growing up, I don’t really feel like that was something that I saw in professional soccer and on national teams,” 23-year-old defender Naomi Girma, who will make her World Cup debut, told reporters. “I feel honored to be that representation.”
At a media event last month, Dunn noted that even things like finding hair and makeup stylists who work with Black women for team events can be a challenge.
She hopes to leave the sport in a place where those that follow “don’t have to fight for the same things.”
“I can’t hide that I’m a Black woman,” said Dunn. “And so I think for me, just the more that I step into that space and I own it has really allowed and given other women of color the green light.”
-Reuters
Spain thrashed England 4-0 to move a step closer to automatic qualification for next year’s Women’s World Cup finals, with Germany booking their spot thanks to a comfortable 2-0 home win over Norway in the penultimate round of European qualifiers on Friday.
With the top teams from each of the four A groups qualifying automatically, Germany’s win gave them an unassailable four-point lead over Norway in Group A4 with one game left, while Spain and England are both locked on 12 points at the top of Group A3.
England’s hopes of securing a spot with a win in Mallorca were quickly snuffed out, with Patri Guijarro giving the Spaniards the lead in the 19th minute and Alexia Putellas making it 2-0 before the break.
There appeared to be nothing England could do to stop the Spanish juggernaut, with Putellas adding a second goal 10 minutes after the break and Claudio Pina putting the icing on the cake with a goal from a superb pass by Aitana Bonmati to make it 4-0.
England retain a chance of qualifying directly, but they will have to get a better result when they host Ukraine next Tuesday than Spain manage in their final fixture away to Iceland.
There was late drama in Group A2 as Ireland’s Amber Barrett netted a 90th-minute goal to snatch a 3-2 home win over the Netherlands to move above the Dutch and into second place in the group, one point behind leaders France, who beat Poland 2-0.
The Irish play France in their final game in Grenoble, with the Dutch taking on Poland at home.
Earlier, Pernille Harder came off the bench and scored the winner for Denmark as they downed neighbours Sweden 2-1 to end the Swedes’ hopes of qualifying directly.
The Danes top Group A1 on 11 points ahead of their final game against bottom side Serbia, while second-placed Italy, who are three points behind the leaders, next host Sweden.
-Reuters
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s Falconets have been handed a challenging but promising draw for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after they were placed in Group F alongside former champions Spain, China PR and debutants New Caledonia.
The draw for the 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup was conducted in Lodz on Thursday, setting the stage for the tournament scheduled to run from 5 to 27 September across four Polish cities.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s most successful teams at the competition, will face a stern opening-round test against European powerhouse Spain, which won the title in Costa Rica in 2022. China PR also brings a considerable pedigree to the group, while New Caledonia will be making their maiden appearance at the global finals.
The Falconets will be hoping to improve on their performance at the last edition and rekindle memories of their best outings, when they reached the final in 2010 and 2014.
Hosts Poland headline Group A alongside Argentina, Benin and Mexico, while defending champions Korea DPR begin their title defence in Group E against Colombia, Costa Rica and Portugal.
Other intriguing group-stage fixtures include Brazil, England, Canada and Tanzania in Group B, while France, Korea Republic, Ghana and Ecuador make up Group C. Group D features former champions Japan and USA alongside New Zealand and Italy.
The full draw is as follows:
- Group A: Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Benin
- Group B: Brazil, England, Canada, Tanzania
- Group C: France, Korea Republic, Ghana, Ecuador
- Group D: Japan, USA, New Zealand, Italy
- Group E: Korea DPR, Colombia, Costa Rica, Portugal
- Group F: Spain, Nigeria, China PR, New Caledonia
The tournament will mark Poland’s first major global women’s football event, with matches to be played in Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Lodz and Sosnowiec.
Six nations — Benin, Ecuador, New Caledonia, Poland, Portugal and Tanzania — will make their debut appearances, while Korea DPR and the USA are both chasing a record fourth title.
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Nigeria’s Falconets will discover their opponents for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup when the official draw is conducted in Łódź, Poland, on May 15, as preparations intensify for another campaign on the global stage.
The draw ceremony, confirmed by football’s world governing body, FIFA, will take place in one of the tournament’s host cities and will be broadcast live worldwide on FIFA+, YouTube and TikTok.
Nigeria, one of the most successful nations in the history of the competition, heads into the draw with renewed ambition after securing qualification for the tournament, which will run from September 5 to 27 across the Polish cities of Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Łódź and Sosnowiec.
The Falconets remain one of Africa’s strongest representatives at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, having reached the final twice in the competition’s history. The Nigerian side will now await the outcome of the draw to know their group-stage opponents among the 24 qualified teams expected to battle for the title.
Former Polish international and current women’s national team coach Nina Patalon and French football legend Laura Georges will participate in the ceremony, underscoring the growing profile of women’s football globally.
Speaking ahead of the event, Patalon described the draw as a defining moment for both participating teams and supporters.
“The draw always brings a special sense of excitement, as it is the moment when the competition truly starts to feel real for both the teams and the fans,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of hosting the tournament in Poland, noting that it could inspire more young girls to embrace football and further accelerate the development of the women’s game in the country.
The 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is expected to showcase some of the brightest emerging talents in women’s football, with Nigeria’s Falconets aiming to make another strong impression on the world stage
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