Julie Foudy - Belle of the Foot-ball

Love it or loath it, there’s not likely to be any way of escaping it. When the football kicks off this summer there will be millions of women all over the world who will be forced to surrender their partners to the call of the “beautiful game”.

When I met up with Julie Foudy, two-time Women’s World Cup winner, former president of the Women’s Sports Foundation and the latest high profile name to become an ambassador to Beyond Sport, she opened by reiterating the fact that football is a sport that both women and men can share equally.

“I was always interested in sport and from an early age – as the youngest of 4 children growing up in California – formed part of a very active family, although none of them really played soccer. I have always enjoyed sport and fortunately for me soccer was just starting to become popular in our area.

“I attended Stanford University where I just focused on soccer but a career in this line of business can be a tough physical challenge. When you have a passion for something in life it becomes your focus and helps carry you through both the rough and the smooth times. I also majored in Pre-Med. I was accepted into Stanford Medical School and deferred 2 years before I decided that I did not want to be a doctor.”

Unlike much of the world, football is still not seen as a major sport in the States, although its popularity is growing and at younger ages, there is an even split of almost 50/50 between girls and boys who play the game.

“In many countries, it is hard to change attitudes, especially when soccer has been a part of their culture for so many years and through many generations. To see women playing is not easy for some cultures to accept. But once they realize women can play and how beneficial it is for their young daughters to be leading healthy, active lives, I hope attitudes change.  It will just take time. And we are definitely seeing attitudes and perceptions change which is a wonderful thing.”

For Julie, her distinguished career in football holds many great memories.

“I participated in 4 Women’s World Cups and 3 Olympics for the USA team. I finished my National team career with 45 goals, 59 assists and 272 international appearances (caps) for the USA. This great achievement ranks third in the world all-time, male or female.”

In fact she was the successful captain of her team for 13 years and was under no illusions about the challenges and extra pressures this can bring.

“You have to be strong willed, but inclusive. You have to be a good listener, and also a good communicator. You have to make sure you are setting a great example both on and off the field. And equally important, you have to always make decisions that will help the team as a whole.”

Of course women in sport are often overlooked or left in the shadows of their male counterparts, which is something that still needs to be worked on, not just here but on a global scale. The situation with football specifically is improving but still has a distance to go.

“I think the English women’s national team is getting more attention and they are getting much better so that is great news. I think with their increased success, more people will start paying attention. The game of women’s football is improving, so that helps as well. Again, it will take time, but I think the fact that more and more young girls are playing in England is a healthy sign.”

Julie’s involvement with Beyond Sport comes about from her desire to make an impact and she is firmly behind the organization’s goal for helping to globally promote, develop and fund the use of sport to create positive social change across the world.

“Sport has the power to unite and it can be such a positive force that we need to channel the focus of people everywhere to this common goal.”

For more information visit www.beyondsport.org

Poppy Watt

Posted Mon, 05/17/2010 - 10:25 by Poppy Watt