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Angel City FC takes a stand for LGBTQ+ inclusivity in the NWSL

Angel City players huddle up before a Challenge Cup game this season. (Jenny Chuang/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Around June of last year, Angel City FC’s Head of Community Catherine Dávila called up Lily Barrett-O’Keefe, executive director of Common Goal.

The two had worked together when Angel City helped launch the Anti-Racist Project in February, and Dávila had an idea to build off of that initiative.

“LGBTQ+ issues and inclusion are at the center of everything the NWSL does and is,” she said to Barrett-O’Keefe. “We should do a project like the Anti-Racist Project but with LGBTQ+ issues.”

Homophobia has been a prevalent issue in men’s and women’s soccer around the globe, while anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-trans legislation sweeps across the United States. The Major League Soccer-Liga MX All-Star Game last August was halted due to homophobic chants from the crowd. Recently in the NWSL, the Orlando Pride apologized in a joint statement with the Black Swans supporters’ group for asking the group to take down a banner that read “GAY” in accordance with signage policies. The North Carolina Courage faced backlash from fans in December after signing Jaelene Daniels, a formerly retired U.S. women’s national team player who has spoken out against gay marriage and refused to wear the USWNT’s Pride jersey.

Coming out of her conversation with Dávila, Barrett-O’Keefe was all in. She proceeded to bring the idea to life with the help of Common Goal, a global social impact collective.

Dávila called the San Diego Wave FC, who were also eager to get involved, and the Wave then recruited clubs from the other major professional soccer leagues in the U.S., Canada and Mexico: Tigres UANL, Chicago Fire FC, Oakland Roots, Pacific FC, Philadelphia Union and San Diego Loyal SC.

Ahead of hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the clubs came together to launch a 12-month program for stakeholders that includes over 100 hours of LGBTQ+ inclusion training led by the Common Goal project, Play Proud and its partners — Inside Inclusion, Impact International and Stonewall UK. Included in each club’s delegation are a leader of their supporters’ group and a community-based coach from their city.

Angel City hosted the first five-day residential event in Los Angeles last week.

“We went into it saying Pride, LGBTQ+ inclusion and issues and conversations and voices are not just June, and especially when we’re Angel City and especially when we’re in women’s soccer,” Dávila said. “This is year-round for us.”

Angel City plans to develop club policies for the season based on what they learn in the workshops, which will then translate into a long-term strategy of inclusivity. Until the second residential event in December, hosted by Tigres, the clubs that attended the event in L.A. have an accountability system in place. They also have the opportunity to schedule ongoing meetings with Play Proud’s experts, which Dávila hopes Angel City holds on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Angel City players could sit in on the Play Proud workshops last week if they wished. Defender Paige Nielsen only planned to be there for the morning, but when noon hit, she asked if she could stay for the rest of the day.

Nielsen didn’t know anyone in the room except teammate Madison Hammond, but she felt like she did because of the way everyone empowered each other with their personal stories and moments of vulnerability.

“We don’t have that many safe spaces anymore,” she said. “People call you out all the time, whether that’s online, in school. There’s Don’t Say Gay bills. You can’t talk about things. And this is a safe room.”

Nielsen recalled the instructor using a saying about calling people “in” instead of “out,” emphasizing how to react to issues in a way that’s educational and positive.

A quote that Nielsen and Dávila reflected on was: “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.”

“That really hit home for me because I’m such a hippie and I’m like, ‘No words or anything will bother me. I know my worth.’ But that comes from a place of privilege,” Nielsen said. “The more conferences and the more things we learn about how much you are privileged versus a lot of people, it makes me want to do a lot more and help others.”

In one of the many ways privilege was demonstrated throughout the week, the instructor set up four different rows of chairs with four people in each row. The leader of the session put a trash bin in front of the first row. Everyone had 10 seconds to get their crumpled piece of paper into the bin.

As papers flew overhead, the people in front of the bin simply reached out and placed theirs in. One person in the back row made their shot. The woman next to him gave up because she couldn’t even see the bin; she just believed it existed. Meant to reflect privileged people in society, the participants in the front row of seats had the advantage over people in the back, who could only take a chance with their throw and hope for the best.

Every conversation Angel City has this season will have been touched by Play Proud. The goal is to make the learnings feel so routine that they won’t need to be reactive when new issues arise, internally or externally.

“If we’re going to take a stand on inclusivity, on diversity, on the importance of these things, not just morally but to our businesses, we have to be OK talking about them,” Dávila said. “We have to be excited talking about them.”

Since the beginning of preseason in February, Angel City players have been vocal about how much they appreciate playing for a club that aligns with their values of inclusivity, equality and empowerment. ACFC’s efforts to put the LGBTQ+ community front and center is just another step in that direction.

“It gets me excited because I’m around amazing people, amazing staff who want to do something bigger than just play a sport,” Nielsen said. “They want to use the sport as an avenue to help kids, inspire others.”

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Marta Weighs 2027 World Cup as Brazil Hunts 2025 Copa América Title

Legendary Brazil captain Marta runs across the pitch during a 2025 match.
Marta unretired to join Brazil at the 2025 Copa América tournament. (Paulo Dias/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Though international retirement did not stick for Brazil legend Marta, with the 39-year-old currently captaining her world No. 4 national team at the 2025 Copa América tournament, her World Cup future remains in question.

Brazil will be hosting the 2027 event — the first ever held in South America — with the record-breaking attacker turning 41 years old a few months before the World Cup's June 24th kickoff.

"I don't know whether I'll still be playing in 2027 or whether I'll be fit," she told Brazilian outlet Globo on Sunday.

"I still have a very strong desire to be a mother. So, I might wake up one day and decide to call my doctor to see if it's still possible. If it is, then bye, I have to go."

Should she decide to compete, Marta will join fellow Brazilian icon Formiga in logging seven total World Cups — the most of any athlete, man or woman, in soccer history.

In the meantime, the country's all-time leading goalscorer is currently working to help claim Brazil's ninth overall Copa América trophy.

Though early in the 2025 tournament, the Seleção is already on their way to a fifth straight title, opening their campaign with a 2-0 defeat of No. 48 Venezuela on Sunday.

"Brazil is the favorite, and we know it," said Marta. "We know our responsibility to bring home the title." 

How to watch Marta in the 2025 Copa América tournament

In their second of four group-stage matches, No. 4 Brazil will play No. 105 Bolivia at 5 PM ET on Wednesday.

The match will air live on FS1.

WNBA Expansion Team Portland Reignites Original “Fire” Name

A graphic of the revived Portland Fire team name.
The 2026 WNBA expansion team is leaning into its roots by reviving the original team name, the Portland Fire. (Portland Fire)

Portland's original WNBA team name is back, with the 2026 expansion side announcing the return of the the Portland Fire moniker on Tuesday — the name held by the city's first WNBA squad from 2000 to 2002.

With details including a "Rose on Fire" emblem— a nod to Portland's "Rose City" nickname — the city-specific nods in the new logo seek to capture Portland's identity.

"[It's] an important heritage," team interim president Clare Hamill told The Athletic this week. "The opportunity to bring the Portland Fire back, reborn, was 100 percent — creatively and for the brand and for fans — the way to go."

While the team is still searching for its head coach and general manager, excitement is growing, with fans anteing up to the tune of over 10,000 season-ticket deposits since the WNBA awarded the franchise last fall.

"Portland has long stood at the forefront of women's sports, and with nearly 11,000 season ticket deposits to-date, this community has made it clear they're ready to embrace the return of women's professional basketball," said Lisa Bhathal Merage, a co-founder of RAJ Sports — the ownership group of both the WNBA team and the NWSL's Thorns. "We're proud to reignite the Portland Fire."

In addition to the Portland Fire, the Toronto Tempo will hit WNBA courts next season, with three more expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia set to tip off in 2028, 2029, and 2030, respectively.

2025 Euro Quarterfinals Take the Pitch

Italy's Elisabetta Oliviero celebrates a goal with her teammates during a 2025 Euro match.
The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off with Italy facing Norway on Wednesday. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off on Wednesday, with the eight remaining contenders sitting just three wins away from becoming champions of Europe.

While every win-or-go-home game promises excitement, a few of this week's matchups hold extra intrigue:

  • No. 16 Norway vs. No. 13 Italy, Wednesday at 3 PM ET (FOX): After winning Group A last week, a wobbly yet talented Norway side will kick off the 2025 Euro quarterfinals against second-place Group B team Italy — a squad with a proven ability to hit a counterpunch should they go down early.
  • No. 6 Sweden vs. No. 5 England, Thursday at 3 PM ET (FOX): Sweden looked utterly dominant in their 4-1 dismantling of Germany to win Group C on Saturday, and their reward is a date with the reigning champions, who bounced back from an early loss to France.
  • No. 2 Spain vs. No. 23 Switzerland, Friday at 3 PM ET (FOX): The 2023 World Cup champs have looked like the favorites to win it all by cruising through Group B, while a stoppage-time goal last Thursday sent the tournament hosts to their first-ever Euro quarterfinal.
  • No. 10 France vs. No. 3 Germany, Saturday at 3 PM ET (FOX): France emerged unscathed from the notorious "Group of Death," earning the Group D winners an advantage of momentum over a German side reeling from their 4-1 group-stage loss to Sweden.

Caitlin Clark Injury Clouds 2025 WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest Announcement

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark reacts to a possible re-injury as she exits a 2025 WNBA game next to teammate Aliyah Boston.
Clark exited Tuesday's game after appearing to re-aggravate a groin injury. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)

The WNBA announced superstar lineups for the 2025 All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge on Tuesday, though the league will have to hope their best laid plans survive to see the weekend.

Along with the previously self-confirmed Sabrina Ionescu (New York) and Sonia Citron (Washington), Friday's 3-Point Contest roster will include Caitlin Clark (Indiana), Kelsey Plum (LA), and reigning event champion Allisha Gray (Atlanta).

Gray will also be defending her 2024 Skills Challenge title, with Natasha Cloud (New York), Skylar Diggins (Seattle), Erica Wheeler (Seattle), and Courtney Williams (Minnesota) looking to usurp the Dream guard on Friday.

Despite the WNBA's confirmation of Clark's long-awaited 3-Point Contest debut, her availability is now in question after the Fever guard appeared to re-aggravate a lingering groin injury, forcing her early exit from Indiana's 85-77 win over Connecticut on Tuesday night.

Fever head coach Stephanie White said afterwards that Clark "felt a little something in her groin," with further evaluation expected as Indiana travels to face New York on Wednesday.

This year's All-Star contingent already suffered one loss, with Atlanta guard Rhyne Howard sidelined with a left knee injury through the end of the month. In her stead, Minnesota guard Kayla McBride will step in, making her fifth career All-Star appearance.

Set to captain one of this weekend's All-Star squads, the WNBA is hoping that Clark is fully available for what's shaping up to be a huge celebration of basketball in Indianapolis.

How to watch the All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will take the Indianapolis court at 8 PM ET on Friday, with both competitions airing live on ESPN.

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