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Soccer, Professional

Traditionally, soccer has always been identified as the “world's game” because of its universal popularity, recognition, and access. Pettus tells us that soccer is also known as the “people's game” because it is the only game that can be commonly found in a large arena being watched by thousands of cheering fans, as well as on local parks and recreation fields being played by 5-year-old children.

Although men's soccer teams have received a tremendous amount of media attention, accessibility, and continual growth, the rise in popularity of women's soccer is only a few decades old. Not until the success of the 1999 U.S. women's soccer team, with players like Mia Hamm and Brandy Chastain, did women's soccer become recognizable and acknowledged in the male-dominated soccer world.

The Early Years and the Inception of Women's Soccer

In 1918, the Committee on Women's Athletics was charged with establishing the rules for many of the emerging popular sports for women. In reality, the committee was responsible for modifying the rules of the men's game to ensure that the rules of the women's game maintained a certain level of propriety and that women would not look like warriors while playing soccer. At the competitive level, men's soccer has always had a reputation for being an aggressive and fast sport. In fact, there is some evidence suggesting that soccer, or a game very similar to soccer, was used in Ancient Greek and Roman times to prepare young warriors for battle and military training.

In the end, the committee determined that playing time for the women's game should be shortened and the length and width of the field should be reduced in size, so that the women did not have to run as far and for as long. The controlling male influence feared that soccer, along with any other form of prolonged physical activity for women, would pose as a safety risk and health hazard for women. Beyond the physical concerns and unfounded safety risks, a concern also existed that the emotional stressors of participation and competition would prove to be overwhelming for women, ultimately causing them to collapse. Of course, we now know that these claims are false, and that physical activity, on the soccer field or otherwise, is a beneficial endeavor for women in many realms.

The Move to the Suburbs

The late 1950s saw the rise of suburban living. On arrival in the suburbs, people found open fields and space to play sports. The 1950s also experienced a major increase in the organization of youth sport, and soccer leagues were formed throughout many communities. In the 1960s the American Youth Soccer Organization was established to determine rules and standards for participation for boy and girl players. Girls were provided with opportunities to play in community leagues with rules that encouraged a less aggressive style of play, and the girls’ game was shorter in duration than the boys’ game. At this time, there was not a future for girls’ soccer much beyond the community leagues, even though the boys who participated in organized community leagues could look forward to playing in high school and beyond. It was not until the passage of Title IX, an educational reform act demanding equitable resources and opportunities regardless of gender, did opportunities for girls and women to participate in soccer beyond their community field increase.

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