Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is an American former 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 national 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 and helped the team win four NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles.
San Jose CyberRays was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San José State University in San Jose, California. Stars included U.S. National Team star Brandi Chastain, WUSA Goalkeeper of the Year LaKeysia Beene, and leading scorer Julie Murray. Other memorable CyberRays were Brazilians Sissi and Katia, Tisha Venturini, and "ironwoman" Thori Bryan, who played every minute of the first season. They were coached by Ian Sawyers, who received WUSA Coach of the Year honors in 2001.
Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey is an American former professional 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 international goals for the US national team, making her the team's third-highest goal scorer behind Mia Hamm's 158 goals, and Abby Wambach's 184.
Mary Abigail Wambach is an American retired soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U.S. women's national soccer team from 2003 to 2015, earning her first cap in 2001. As a forward, she currently stands as the highest all-time goal scorer for the national team and is second in international goals for both female and male soccer players with 184 goals, behind Canadian Christine Sinclair. Wambach was awarded the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year, becoming the first American woman to win the award in ten years. She was included on the 2015 Time 100 list as one of the most influential people in the world.
Marta Vieira da Silva, known as Marta, is a Brazilian-Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Brazil national team. Marta is often regarded as the greatest female footballer of all time. She has been named FIFA World Player of the Year six times, five of them being consecutive and the latest award coming in 2018.
Miraildes Maciel Mota, commonly known as Formiga, is a Brazilian footballer who last played as a midfielder for São Paulo FC. She previously played for professional clubs in Sweden, the United States and France. Formiga holds many international records as a member of the Brazil national team, being the only player present in all Olympic Games tournaments of women's football since the first edition at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and a record for appearing at seven different FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments.
Sisleide do Amor Lima, commonly known as Sissi, is a Brazilian footballer and coach who played as an attacking midfielder. She last played for FC Gold Pride of Women's Professional Soccer and is a former member of the Brazil women's national football team.
The 1996 Summer Olympics—based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States—marked the first time that women participated in the Olympic association football tournament. The tournament featured eight women's national teams from four continental confederations. The teams were drawn into two groups of four and each group played a round-robin tournament. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams advanced to the knockout stage, beginning with the semi-finals and culminating with the gold medal match on August 1, 1996.
Homare Sawa is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward or a midfielder. Regarded by many as one of the greatest female footballers of all time and the greatest Asian female footballer of all time, Sawa had a professional club career spanning 24 seasons, mostly with Nippon TV Beleza and INAC Kobe Leonessa. She also spent 22 years with the Japan national team, most notably captaining them to a FIFA Women's World Cup win in 2011 and an Olympic silver medal finish in 2012.
Cristiane Rozeira de Souza Silva, known as Cristiane, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Flamengo and the Brazilian women's national team. A prolific forward, she was part of Brazil's silver medal-winning teams at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic football tournaments. In total she has participated in five FIFA Women's World Cups and four Olympics.
Daniela Alves Lima, commonly known as Daniela, is a former Brazilian football midfielder who played for professional clubs in Brazil, Sweden and the United States. As a member of the Brazil women's national football team she participated in two FIFA Women's World Cups and three Olympic Games. Daniela was a box-to-box central midfielder who was renowned for her powerful long range shots.
Delma Gonçalves, commonly known as Pretinha, is a Brazilian professional soccer coach and former forward. A longtime member of the Brazil national team, for whom she debuted in 1991, she played for clubs in Brazil, the United States and Japan before moving to Icheon Daekyo of South Korea's WK-League in 2009.
Grazielle Pinheiro Nascimento, commonly known as Grazielle or Grazi, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Corinthians. She was part of the Brazil women's national football team at two Olympic soccer tournaments and at three editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak is an American soccer coach, former defender, and Olympic gold medalist. She was also a member of the 1999 U.S. national team that won the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. She became the 16th player in U.S. history to play over 100 matches for her country and was a founding member of the WUSA, the first women's professional soccer league in the United States. She is currently head coach of the women's soccer team at the University of Central Florida.
Érika Cristiano dos Santos, commonly known as Érika, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Corinthians and the Brazilian women's national team. Érika played as a forward for her clubs and Brazil's youth teams, but mainly as a central defender or "volante" for the senior national team. She was part of Brazil's silver medal-winning team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and also played at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2012 London Olympics, the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Hazleydi Yoreli Rincón Torres is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian Serie A club UC Sampdoria and the Colombia women's national team. She previously played professional football for clubs in Brazil, Sweden and United States. Rincón debuted for the Colombia women's national football team in 2010 and was included in the national team for the 2012 London Olympics, as well as the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011 and 2015.
Mariléia dos Santos, commonly known as Michael Jackson, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a striker for the Brazil women's national football team.
Elane dos Santos Rego, commonly known as Elane, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a central defender for the Brazil women's national football team.
Márcia Matos Calaça, commonly known as Russa, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a midfielder for the Brazil women's national team.
Jacqueline Elise Little is an American former professional soccer player. A fast forward, she played for Bay Area CyberRays and Washington Freedom of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) and trained with the senior United States women's national soccer team. She played in the WUSA championship game in all three seasons of the league's existence and won the WUSA title on two occasions with her two different clubs.
