Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team from 1987 to 2004. Hamm was the face of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, where she played for the Washington Freedom from 2001 to 2003. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer team and helped the team win four consecutive NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles.
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Major League Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, youth organizations, beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic and deaf national teams. U.S. Soccer sanctions referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States. The U.S. Soccer Federation also administers and operates the U.S. Open Cup and the SheBelieves Cup.
Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national teams participate internationally. The history of women's football has seen competitions being launched at both the national and international levels.
Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey is an American retired soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport, gaining her 354th and final cap against Mexico in a World Cup qualifier in November 2010. Lilly scored 130 goals for the US national team, behind Mia Hamm's 158 goals, and Abby Wambach's 184.
Soccer in the United States is run by different organizations. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the country, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highest soccer authority in the country. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) governs most colleges; secondary schools are governed by state-level associations, with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) setting the rules at that level. The match regulations are generally the same between the three governing bodies although there are many subtle differences.
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles, four Olympic gold medals, and nine CONCACAF Gold Cups. It medaled in every World Cup and Olympic tournament in women's soccer from 1991 to 2015, before being knocked out in the quarterfinal of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The team is governed by United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF.
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in OFC, joined AFC in 2006. Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, both territories of the United States, are also AFC members that are geographically in Oceania. The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) was the section of AFC who managed women's association football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968 in a meeting involving Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1986 ALFC merged with AFC.
The Canadian Soccer Association is the governing body of soccer in Canada. It is a national organization that oversees the Canadian men's and women's national teams for international play, as well as the respective junior sides. Within Canada, it oversees national professional and amateur club championships.
Julie Maurine Foudy is an American retired soccer midfielder, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. She played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1988 to 2004. Foudy finished her international career with 274 caps and served as the team's captain from 2000 to 2004 as well as the co-captain from 1991 to 2000. In 1997, she was the first American and first woman to receive the FIFA Fair Play Award.
The Canada women's national soccer team is overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and competes in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
Shannon Leigh Boxx Spearman is an American retired soccer player and former member of the United States women's national soccer team, playing the defensive midfielder position. She last played club soccer for the Chicago Red Stars in the American National Women's Soccer League. She won gold medals with the United States at the 2004 Athens Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics, and 2012 London Olympics. She has also finished third place or better with the US at the 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 FIFA Women's World Cups. She was a finalist for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year award, and won an NCAA Women's Soccer Championship with Notre Dame in 1995. Shannon Boxx announced her retirement from international and club soccer after winning the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. She played her last game on October 21, 2015, when the USWNT tied with Brazil as part of their victory tour.
Maribel Domínguez Castelán is a Mexican former footballer who played for the Chicago Red Stars during 2013 season of the National Women's Soccer League, and was captain and leading scorer of the Mexico women's national football team. She is known internationally as Marigol for her record of 46 goals scored in 49 matches for the Mexico women's national team.
Association football, or soccer, as it is typically called in South Africa, is the nation's most popular sport and South Africa national soccer team is the nation's favourite sports team followed by rugby union and cricket. The governing body is the South African Football Association (SAFA), while the Premier Soccer League is the organisation responsible for running the country's two professional divisions, namely the South African Premier Division and the National First Division. The main cup competitions are the Nedbank Cup, Telkom Knockout, and the MTN 8 Cup.
Leslie Marie Osborne is a retired American soccer defensive midfielder who last played for the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL in 2013. She is a former member of the United States women's national soccer team and previously played for FC Gold Pride and the Boston Breakers in the WPS. She announced her retirement as a player in March 2014.
The Cleveland International Women are an American women’s soccer team, founded in 2004. The team is a member of the Women's League Soccer (WLS), a new and alternative women’s soccer league in the United States that uses an open league model of promotion and relegation to compete globally.
Annalie Antonia Longo is an association football player who represents New Zealand at international level. She has played for Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory in the Australian W-League. From her time in the W-League with Melbourne Victory, Longo is dubbed the Kiwi Messi by the fans for her ability on the ball and goalscoring prowess.
California Storm is an American women's soccer team, founded in 1995 as the Sacramento Storm, dropping the city name in favor of California the following season. The team is a member of the Women's Premier Soccer League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States. The team plays in the North Division of the Pacific Conference. The team was a founding member of the W-League, then left in 1998 to become one of the founding teams of the WPSL.
Melissa Palma Julie Tancredi is a Canadian retired soccer forward who played for the Canada women's national soccer team. 3 time Olympian, 2 time Bronze Medalist. She won an Olympic bronze medal as a participating member of Canada's national team at the 2012 Olympics when Canada defeated France 1–0 in the bronze medal match on August 9, 2012. Tancredi was a participating member when Canada won Bronze defeating Brazil 2-1 in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Tancredi's nickname is "Tanc".
Women's soccer, also known as women's football, is a popular sport in Australia. The sport has a high level of participation in the country both recreational and professional. Football Australia is the national governing body of the sport in Australia, organising the A-League Women, the Australian women's national team, and the nine state governing bodies of the game, among other duties. Women's participation of modern soccer has been recorded since the early 1920s. It has since become one of Australia's most popular women's team sports.
Soccer is not traditionally a major mainstream sport in Canada, but the sport is growing especially in places like Nova Scotia. Up to 85,000 girls participate in soccer, which is 41% of all youth in the country. The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was hosted in Canada.
