|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
Part of that development can be traced to some of the revolutionary programs created by U.S. Soccer through partnerships with Nike, Major League Soccer and other organizations, including Nike Project-40 (a first choice option for young players looking to increase their professional stock by training in a professional environment every day).
The further development of the young professional began with the birth of Major League Soccer, the highest level of professional club soccer ever seen in the United States, which first kicked a ball in 1996. In a span of 10 years, the professional sport in this country went from the doldrums of not having seen a pro league since the demise of the North American Soccer League in 1984, to seeing a firmly entrenched league averaging crowds in the mid-teens, with 10 current franchises surviving in their original cities, with responsive media coverage and strong sponsor support. Something almost impossible to envision in 1990 or even 1995, a powerful, competitive and stable professional league is a reality today.
For the U.S. Women, it would be easy to put the team’s well-documented success down simply to the advantages women have in American society (compared with that of some other nations around the world) or to just the advent of Title IX (which freed the way for women’s sport participation in 1972), but that wouldn’t tell the entire story.
From the start, U.S. Soccer has been committed to developing women’s soccer and has prided itself on being at the forefront of women’s athletic issues across the United States. From the development of full-time residency programs for the players, increased compensation for participation, full-time coaching positions and attention to detail like the development of the “nanny” program to help address the issue of full-time players that are also full-time mothers, U.S. Soccer has set revolutionary standards for other organizations to follow.
Of course nothing can compare to the success of the U.S. Women’s National Team on the field, where they went from being America’s best kept secret after their victory in the 1991 Women’s World Cup to American pop icons when they captured the 1999 crown in front of a national TV audience of 40 million plus. The victory vaulted the sport into a rarified air that few sports celebrities ever enjoy, with the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek and People just the tip of the iceberg. An iceberg which crashed through the hull of the mainstream media’s perception of the sport when the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team closed out the 1990s with the incredible achievements of earning Sports Illustrated’s 1999 Sportsmen of the Year Award, and being named ESPN’s Team of the Year. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rise
Did you know?