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Malala Fund Highlights 30 Female Athletes Making a Difference

GREENVILLE, SC – MARCH 07: Tyasha Harris (52) of South Carolina takes a shot during the SEC Women’s College basketball tournament game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the South Carolina Gamecocks on March 7, 2020, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Malala Fund’s 2020 Game Changer series is championing 30 female athletes from around the world who are breaking barriers in both their sports and their communities.

Produced by Assembly, a digital publication and newsletter from Malala Fund, the Game Changer series highlights all the ways in which sports positively affect the lives of women and girls.

Representing 24 countries, the athletes profiled include Olympic and Paralympic stars as well as promising newcomers from across the sporting landscape. The breadth of experience and diversity of backgrounds provides a unique global snapshot of women in sports today.

Featured athletes range from Miki Matheson, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist, to Tanya Muzinda, a 15-year-old hoping to become the first female motocross champion from Africa. Readers have a chance to meet Atefa, the first girl in Afghanistan to land a kickflip, as well as hear from Tyasha Harris, the No. 7 pick in this year’s WNBA draft pick, about what it meant to her to play for Dawn Staley at South Carolina.

What unites the athletes in the series is their common commitment to using sports to push for critical social change within their own communities.

“The problems that our Game Changers are using their platforms to speak out against include lack of access to education, gender discrimination, racism, and negative perceptions of people with disabilities,” says Tess Thomas, Assembly’s editor.

“These are all issues that girls around the world face. So we wanted the young women who read Assembly to look at our Game Changers and see themselves and their lives reflected in these athletes’ stories and understand that they also have the potential to be leaders on the field and leaders in their communities.”

Many of the athletes highlighted are changing the history of both their sport and their country.

Pratima Sherpa was born and raised in the maintenance shed of a golf club where her parents still work in Nepal. Practicing during after hours on the course where she lived, Pratima is now her country’s top-ranked female golfer, and last year she made history as the first Nepali woman to compete on the LPGA Tour.

Lucía Montenegro is not simply one of the fastest wheelchair racers in the world. Her fight to become the first student with a disability accepted at her school changed the institutions enrollment policies, paving the way for further students with disabilities to enroll.

In an essay entitled “Levelling the playing field,” Malala Fund’s advocacy coordinator Laura Denham lays out the research showing the potential for sports to help girls thrive in school, at home and in their careers. When girls succeed on the field, they’re more likely to succeed in the classroom, and they are more likely to excel in traditionally male-dominated subjects like STEM. The annual wages of former athletes are also on average about 7% higher than those of non-athletes in the US, and a study by Ernst and Young found that 94% of business leaders played sports when they were younger.

Denham notes that despite the significant personal and social benefits of girls participation in sports, the world still has a long way to go until there’s equal participation across the genders.

“Practical and environmental factors — such as lack of facilities or transportation — often make it difficult for girls to participate in sports… Discriminatory gender norms also prevent girls from becoming athletes. In the U.K., 43% of girls surveyed said that fear of being judged about their appearance stopped them participating in sport and exercise.”

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TYASHA HARRIS (ICON SPORTSWIRE/GETTY IMAGES)

Through its athlete profiles, the Game Changers series illuminates the strong overlap between sports participation, academic achievement and leadership. For Thomas, this relationship between athletics and activism is anything but accidental.

“Sports is obviously a great way for girls to showcase their leadership abilities,” she says. “As you can see through the Game Changers series, they really extend that leadership off the field, and to the different issues that are affecting their communities.”

One such athlete is Uganda’s only competitive para-swimmer, 13-year-old Husnah Kukundakwe. Husnah says swimming has not only helped her develop confidence, it’s also given her a platform with which to speak up for girls’ education in Uganda, where many drop out of school at a young age due to poverty, early marriage, forced marriage, and pregnancy.

“When I realised that I actually motivate people,” Husnah told Assembly, “I wanted to keep doing it so that I can increase awareness about people with disabilities and girls going to school.”

The Game Changers series makes it clear that the benefits of investing in female athletes extend well beyond the field, as sports allow these young women to find both the confidence and the skillset needed to be leaders in the world.

“Malala Fund really believes that girls are not only the leaders of tomorrow,” says Thomas, “but the leaders of today, and their voices and their opinions need to be heard and need to be a part of the global conversation.”

The Malala Fund was co-founded by Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who first rose to prominence as an 11 year old by blogging about her experience under Taliban-rule in Pakistan. An international non-profit organization fighting for girls’ right to education, the Malala Fund launched Assembly in 2018 in order to create a platform for girls to tell their stories, share their ideas, and learn from one another.

You can meet all the athletes in the Game Changers series by clicking here.

Wimbledon Increases Prize Money, Winner to Receive $4.07 Million

Czechia's Barbora Krejčíková celebrates a point during the 2024 Wimbledon final.
2025 Wimbledon competitors could win up to 11.1% more prize money this year. (Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)

Wimbledon is leveling up, as the annual London-based Grand Slam announced Thursday that it's increasing its purse by 7% across the board in 2025, pushing the total prize money to £53.5 million ($72.59 million) ahead of tennis tournament's June 30th kick-off.

Both the 2025 women's and men's singles champions will earn winner's checks in the amount of £3 million ($4.07 million) — an 11.1% increase over the amount won by 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková.

With increases across all Slam events, from singles and doubles to wheelchair competitions, even athletes who stumble early will see a raise over last year's competition.

For example, singles players ousted in this year's first round will take home 10% more than in 2024, earning deposits of £66,000 ($89,530).

The 2025 total purse now doubles the prize money offered by the tournament a decade ago, and makes Wimbledon the biggest potential payday across all four of the sport's Grand Slams.

"We're immensely proud of the fact that, if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year," said All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club chair Deborah Jevans. "And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players."

Canadian Swimmer Summer McIntosh Breaks 3rd World Record in Five Days

Canadian star swimmer Summer McIntosh competes in a 2025 race.
Summer McIntosh recorded three world records in five days at the 2025 Canadian swimming trials. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Teen swimmer Summer McIntosh made a major splash at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials, shattering three world records in just five days of competition in Victoria, BC.

First on Saturday, the Toronto swimmer shaved 1.2 seconds off the Australian Ariarne Titmus's 400-meter freestyle mark to set a new world record time of 3:54.18.

Then on Monday, McIntosh took down a decade-old record in the 200-meter individual medley (IM), becoming the first woman swimmer to complete the race in less than 2:06.00.

Just two days later, the 18-year-old McIntosh broke her own 400-meter IM world record, besting her 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials time by 0.73 seconds with a 4:23.65 race Wednesday.

With her unstoppable week-long performance, McIntosh became the first swimmer to set three new world records in different individual events at one meet since US legend Michael Phelps's historic run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Going into tonight, I knew I could do something really special because this has probably been the best meet of my career," McIntosh told reporters after Wednesday's race.

That said, the young star is already eyeing new times — and new records.

"Overall, [I'm] happy with the time, but I know I can go faster," said McIntosh following her 400-meter IM performance. "The faster I swim, the happier I am."

NWSL Returns to California for 2025 Championship Weekend

View of PayPal Park during a 2025 NWSL match.
San Jose's PayPal Park will host the 2025 NWSL Championship in November. (Eakin Howard/NWSL via Getty Images)

The NWSL Championship is on its way back West, with the league announcing on Friday morning that the 2025 title match will kick off from PayPal Park in San Jose, California.

Hosted at the home pitch of 2024 expansion team Bay FC, the game will take place on Saturday, November 22nd.

In addition to the championship match, the 2025 NWSL season's final weekend will include a variety of supporting events like Fan Fest and the annual Skills Challenge competition.

"We're thrilled to bring the NWSL Championship back to the West Coast and to a region with as rich a history in women's soccer as the Bay Area," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a league statement.

Citing a long list of former USWNT stars with local ties, including Julie Foudy, Kelley O'Hara, and Alex Morgan, Bay FC co-founder Brandi Chastain — a US legend herself — called the Bay Area "the place women's soccer calls home."

"Our community's fabric is woven with the greatest the game has to offer," explained Chastain.

"This community's passion for the game, combined with the excitement surrounding one of our newest teams in Bay FC, makes it the perfect setting to celebrate the league's top talent and crown our next champion," said Berman.

How to attend and watch the 2025 NWSL Championship

Like last year, the 2025 NWSL Championship will air in primetime, with CBS set to broadcast the match live at 8 PM ET on November 22nd.

Tickets to the game will be available for purchase beginning in August, though interested fans can sign up for presale access online now.

NWSL, WNBA Player Unions Address ICE Raids, Voice Solidarity with Los Angeles

Orlando Pride players huddle before a 2025 NWSL match.
The NWSLPA and the WNBPA put out a joint statement addressing this week's ICE raids in Los Angeles. (Alex Menendez/Getty Images)

The NWSL and WNBA Players Associations teamed up to release a joint statement on Thursday, with the unions expressing their solidarity with "all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity" after the recent ICE raids and ensuing protests in Los Angeles.

The move comes after Angel City published their own social media post addressing the ICE raids last Saturday, with the Los Angeles NWSL club noting "We know that our city is stronger because of its diversity and the people and families who shape it, love it, and call it home."

ACFC also directed immigrants in need of assistance in the wake of the ICE raids to two community organizations: the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights and the LA County Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Calling the WNBA Players Association "leaders in this space," NWSL Players Association executive director Meghann Burke told The Athletic that the basketball union initiated their joint statement.

"It's important to stand together as workers' unions," she noted.

NWSL and WNBA unions speak to families impacted by ICE raids

"It's not lost on us that this country and the world are in turmoil right now," wrote the NWSLPA and WNBPA. "Across the country, families are facing fear, hardship, and uncertainty tied to immigration."

The athlete unions then crystallized their position, saying, "We stand with all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity, no matter where they come from or where they hope to go."

"Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect," they continued. "We know not every situation is simple. But offering compassion should never be up for debate."

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