Hope Solo.Photo: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
Hope Solois calling out what she feels are areas of much-needed change in professional soccer in the United States.
The goalkeeper, 40, appeared onThe Accutron ShowpodcastTuesday, during which she addressed the lack of diversity in her sport. Solo, who played on the U.S. women’s national soccer team and in the National Women’s Soccer League, said the sport can be “alienating in the U.S.”
“Sport can do so much for so many people,” Solo said. “And soccer obviously is no different. I think soccer is one of the most welcoming sports in the world, although in the United States we have made it a rich white kids' sport.”
The soccer star toldThe Accutron Showpodcast that the U.S. has “a system that is only pay to play,” elaborating, “We don’t have a system here in the U.S. for soccer to get a needle in the haystack; to find a kid from a lower-income community to play for the United States soccer team.”
Instead, Solo explained, families pay “thousands of dollars a year” for kids to play for top clubs, which she said is who pro scouts watch rather than going to see young athletes in “lower-income communities.”
Solo continued, “It’s very alienating. Soccer is supposed to be a very welcoming sport; it is throughout Europe and the world. It’s a pay to play system, we’re making money off the youth, instead of the [U.S. Soccer] Federation giving money back to the youth.”
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Solo’s latest statements on lack of diversity come after she spoke about the subject in 2018. In an op-ed published inThe Guardianthat year, the pro athlete insisted “something is broken” in soccer today.
“We called ourselves the Ponytail Posse because that’s what the U.S. women’s national team was about,” Solo wrote. “The white girls next door … Barely more than a dozen female players of color have represented the United States at the highest level since 1991. Something is broken.”
Solo noted that “race was something most people on teams I played with didn’t want to talk about,” before adding, “race is an issue we need to discuss a whole lot more.”
And last month,U.S. Soccer announced the launch of the One Nation (DEIB) Fund, aimed at building “a more inclusive soccer community.” The fund accepts donations that will support programs and projects that advance diversity and inclusion in soccer, as well as further national awareness around those topics.
She previously played on the U.S. women’s national soccer team from 2000 through 2016. Throughout her career, she earned two Olympic gold medals — in 2008 and 2012 — and is a World Cup champion.
source: people.com
