U.S. women’s soccer: A sport for White America

Jay Li

U.S. soccer player

Crystal Dunn was often forced to play on all-boys teams when she was younger, experiencing a lack of recognition and support, constantly being referred to as “too small” or “not strong enough” by coaches. Even now, after having competed at two Olympics and being one of her team’s star players she still lacks recognition for her talents.

Dunn’s lack of opportunities and resources as a Black woman in professional soccer is not uncommon. The notion that women of color must work harder to get much less than their white peers rings true in many industries—including professional soccer. Despite their success on the field, Black women in U.S. women’s soccer continue to face discrimination and inequality in the sport.

The sport has long had a lack of diversity, being traditionally dominated by rich, white women due to a web of barriers holding back lower-class and marginalized players. Club soccer in the U.S. is often considered a “pay-to-play” sport in contrast with several other countries that offer youth soccer at minimal or free cost.

A lack of government funding or support for youth soccer programs in the U.S. means teams and clubs must rely on player fees to cover expenses. Field maintenance, coaching salaries, equipment and travel fees make running a youth soccer program a difficult task without government funding, contributing to expenses that can be tens of thousands of dollars. The problem plagues many other sports in the U.S., such as ice hockey. Many youth ice hockey leagues require players to cover costs such as ice rink time and hockey gear. This often creates a barrier for lowerclass families— many of whom are marginalized minority groups—from accessing the sport, thus contributing to a lack of diversity and representation in soccer.

“The simple answer to pay-to-play culture is increased government support to soccer leagues.

Local governments such as Santa Clara County could provide funding for programs that help lower-income players develop their talents. Otherwise, potentially very talented players may never see

Staff Writer

leagues indicated a strong relationship between diversity and team performance, suggesting that diversity is a positive factor that increases creativity and lowers groupthink.

paywalls to competition and this should never be the case for a sport that wishes to be competitive, diverse and have an equal playing field,” Sophomore Arion Habibvand

Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. lags behind vastly in youth soccer opportunities due to the structural inaccessibility of club soccer. In other countries such as England, coaches spend a lot of time in the non-professional scene to seek out new talent. On the contrary, U.S. coaches focus on those who already play professionally, resulting in low exposure for others. Thus, the demographics of the U.S. Women’s National Team has remained predominantly white. For example, in the 2019 World Cup team, out of the 23 players, eight were players of color, including two Black players.

A study from Ohio University on the top five European soccer

“The impact of diversity can be felt outside of the field, because a diverse soccer community allows individuals of all backgrounds to feel welcomed and valued. Additionally, diversity in sports can also have a positive impact on society. For instance, promoting inclusivity can help break down barriers and promote understanding and acceptance of different cultures, backgrounds and beliefs to create a more well-informed community,” Freshman Max Nguyen said.

Various organizations have been created to combat the lack of diversity. The U.S. Soccer Foundation is among those that are pursuing greater accessibility for communities that are traditionally excluded from such opportunities.

Since 2008, their Soccer for Success program has been working with 400,000 children—90% of whom are from communities of color—and expects to serve upwards of 100,000 kids this year. Through the program, the founders aim to provide equal opportunities for children of different backgrounds, creating a safe and inclusive environment for all players on the soccer field.