Women's Soccer

Many female footballers are at risk of losing their livelihoods due to the global soccer shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a report by global players' union FIFPRO said on Thursday. 

The report said specific measures were needed to help women's football during the crisis, which has brought world sport to a standstill and caused the postponement of major international events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Otherwise, it said, the women's game could be facing an existential threat.

Donald Trump’s feud with women’s soccer players continued on Saturday as he spoke with the commissioners of every major sports league in the U.S. with one exception: the NWSL.

To no one’s surprise, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and PGA commissioners were all invited. Somewhat surprisingly, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, LPGA’s Michael Whan and MLS’s Don Garber also got invites. Also included were UFC and NASCAR, which probably speak to Trump’s base, and WWE, which is more akin to Broadway than sport. 

But no National Women’s Soccer League. 

As a two-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, two-time World Cup champion and the only player (of either gender) to score the game-winning goal in two separate Olympic gold medal matches, Carli Lloyd has had a legendary football career. 

However, her time with the USWNT is nearing an end. Lloyd has appeared in 281 games, scored 113 goals and recorded 52 assists, and it’s clear that her impact on the USWNT and women’s soccer will be remembered for quite some time. 

U.S. Soccer hopes that resolving an ongoing pay equity lawsuit with its women's national team will be a first step in a "long process" to rebuild its reputation, the body's president and CEO told reporters on Tuesday. 

President Cindy Parlow Cone took over from Carlos Cordeiro less than two weeks ago after he resigned having taken responsibility for language used in a court filing that prompted public outcry, an on-field protest by players and rebukes from commercial sponsors. 

Julie Ertz might just be the most dominant player in soccer right now — and the most magnanimous. 

The two-time Women’s World Cup winner teamed up with her husband to donate $100,000 to Philabundance, a Philadelphia-area food bank, to provide meals to those in need during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Ertz and her husband, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, announced the donation on Friday evening through their Ertz Family Foundation. 

U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro resigned on Thursday after taking responsibility for language in a federation court filing that "caused great offense and pain" and prompted an on-field protest by the national women's team.

The women's team sued the national federation for gender discrimination just over a year ago in a lawsuit that included complaints about wages and working conditions.

A trial date has been set for May 5 after talks between the two parties broke down.

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated published a column late Wednesday night stating U.S. Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro should resign. Now former USWNT players are echoing those sentiments while current players continue to bash the Federation for sexism and misogyny.

With the USWNT’s lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation nearing its May court date, we’re learning more about how the Federation is planning to defend itself. Essentially, it appears the USSF will argue men are superior to women and the USMNT requires greater skill and responsibility than the USWNT.

The two-time defending world champions disagree.

The Zambia women’s national team has made history by qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games after upsetting Cameroon in the final of the CAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. 

After defeating Botswana in the quarterfinals and Kenya in the semis, Zambia entered the final a full 57 spots below Cameroon in the FIFA world rankings. What’s more, Cameroon’s program had the experience of qualifying for London 2012 followed by back-to-back Round of 16 appearances at the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cups. Zambia, on the other hand, had never qualified for the Olympics or a World Cup.