USWNT

Youth soccer in America is changing. Over the past few years, U.S. soccer has moved to profoundly address the exclusivity of high-level grass roots play. Talented footballers at the high school age can get offered to play for a program known as a Development Academy (DA). Both Major League Soccer and other youth clubs all over the U.S. have Development Academy teams, from the high school age all the way down to U-12. 

Nike will provide the uniforms for 14 of the 24 competing nations at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, and the sportswear giant unveiled them all during an incredible innovation event in Paris.

Yesterday, on International Women’s Day, adidas announced that any sponsored players on the Women’s World Cup-winning team would receive the same bonus pay given to their male counterparts. 

On International Women’s Day, during Women’s History Month, the U.S. women’s national team is suing U.S. Soccer.

A lawsuit filed on Friday accuses the United States Soccer Federation of “institutionalized gender discrimination.” The suit seeks back pay, damages and other relief, which could total millions of dollars. 

After two disappointing draws to open the SheBelieves Cup, the USWNT redeemed itself with its best showing of the tournament in a 1-0 win over Brazil on Tuesday in Tampa, Florida. 

The U.S. tied Japan and England 2-2, leaving little chance of winning the tournament for the third time in its fourth edition. 

Another game, another draw. Is it time to worry?

The USWNT was always in for a challenge at the 2019 SheBelieves Cup against the teams ranked No. 4 (England), 8 (Japan) and 10 (Brazil) in the world. But for the No. 1-ranked team, back-to-back draws showed the challenge may have been too much for the current U.S. team.

Want to know the secret behind USWNT and Utah Royals superstar Christen Press? Well, the answer is yoga. 

The LA native keeps in shape by doing more than just playing soccer.

Yoga is an important factor that has made her a better athlete. And after Wednesday’s SheBelieves match, Press came off the bench and clearly showed how her yoga sessions pay off, supplying an assist to Alex Morgan.

In American men’s soccer, the path to turning pro has never been clearer. The MLS SuperDraft, the general means for college players to enter the league, has always been somewhat irrelevant, but now it’s by and large obsolete. Talent is coming through the league's Development Academies, where players are working year-round on the quest to becoming world-class, not unlike professionals themselves.

It’d been a long time since any nation treated the USWNT like Spain did in the opening 45 of today’s contest in Alicante. 2019 will mark La Roja’s second-ever World Cup appearance (the first came in 2015), but the growing European side controlled 58 percent of possession and out-passed the defending world champions 274-195 in the first half. Not bad for a first-ever meeting with the powerhouse that is the USWNT.