One of the reasons why the US is so good at supporting women’s football…
While we were in California this summer, we went to a Santa Clara Women's Soccer match. I love it how football (called soccer in the US) is so popular with girls there. Known as the Broncos, the Santa Clara women's team is special. In addition to being immortalised in Bend It Like Beckman, where the two stars of the film win a scholarship to the university, the assistant coach is our friend Brandi Chastain!
The team is GREAT at marketing and encouraging girls to play the sport. After the match, the entire team (29 girls!) sat at a long table to sign autographs for their young fans. Not only is the team tan, blonde and gorgeous, they are very friendly and each chatted with my girls. They provided a free poster of the team (clever marketing) and each member signed it. My girls left with warm, fuzzy football-is-for-girls feelings. What training ground. Go Broncos!
Family Affairs | 19th Sep 12
That is encouraging and something the UK can learn from Lx
The Real Supermum | 18th Sep 12
I really hope football picks up more here for girls and sports in genral. I’m glad your girls got something out of it 🙂
HonestMum | 14th Sep 12
Really wish the UK was as good at promoting women’s football as the US was-hopefully the Olympics might have helped!
Expat Mum | 13th Sep 12
Interesting. I had almost the opposite viewpoint when my now 19 year old was at the age when she could have started playing soccer. I was very surprised that girls’ soccer was so popular, but also very discouraged that it was so poorly funded supported and celebrated once they had left school. It seemed to me that, even though soccer isn’t a huge game in the States anyway, all the money and TV air time was channelled into the men’s leagues.