Yay, it has arrived, the beginning of the Women's 2023 World Cup! I don’t know about you but we are super excited to watch ALL the teams at the WWC compete, but especially the USA. #gousa
The first “unofficial” Women’s World Cup was played in Italy in July, 1970. The Italy tournament was followed by another “unofficial” tournament in Mexico in 1971. Up until 1970 many countries had banned women’s soccer. When the bans began lifting in the 70’s many countries began forming female soccer teams, which lead to new teams all around the globe. The continental women’s tournaments were held in Asia in 1975 and Europe in 1984 and after these tournaments were played, Ellen Wille, declared she wanted more support from FIFA in promoting the women’s game. In 1988, FIFA hosted the Women’s Invitation Tournament in China to see if a global WWC was possible. The opening match between China and Canada garnered 45,000 people, with subsequent matches averaging 20,000 people a game, thereby solidifying that there was an appetite and support for women’s soccer.
It is hard to believe that it is has been 32 years since the first “sanctioned” Women’s World Cup tournament was played. The inaugural year was in 1991 in China and was named the FIFA’s Women’s World Championship. This was the first tournament for the United States Women’s Soccer Team and they definitely made their mark by winning the tournament, defeating Norway in the final 2-1, with Michele Akers scoring 2 goals!
This year’s 9th edition WWC will be played in both Australia and New Zealand, a long way from the USA! The USA has won a total of 4 ( 1991, 1999, 2015, 2019) WWC’s, Germany 2 times (2003, 2007), while Japan (2011) and Norway (1995), each have won once.
Every 4 years I am reminded of how far female soccer has come and remind myself that without these trailblazer women, KLG might not exist. The sole purpose of KLG is to support soccer players and soccer parents both on and off the field. We are feverishly working on our KLG starter pack geared towards helping parents get their little ones ready for soccer, think of it as your “one stop shop” option – more details to follow at the end of summer!
For now, enjoy the 9th edition of the Women’s World Cup and GO USA! #klglife
