A number of women’s soccer stars will now have their own Legos after the company released a 2023 Women’s World Cup set this month.
The players featured are U.S. women’s national team forward Megan Rapinoe, Australia’s Sam Kerr, Japan’s Yuki Nagasato and Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala. The set comes as part of Lego’s Play Unstoppable campaign that “aims to challenge stereotypes around play and creative building, and encourage girls to unlock the freedom they need to play without boundaries.”
The Women’s World Cup kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand, where the USWNT will aim to defend its title from 2019.
“Play, both on and off the pitch, helps children explore who they are, build confidence and feel like part of a team. It’s one of the reasons why women’s football is one of the fastest growing sports globally, with crowd attendance records being shattered regularly and over 30 million girls now playing the game worldwide,” said Kerr. “But despite the talent of female players and the excitement of the game finally being recognized on the global stage, there are still many stereotypes that surround girls, their hobbies and the way they play that we need to break down.
“I hope that seeing women like me achieve their dreams inspires girls to believe they are unstoppable when they get to do the things they love.”
Check out what happened on set for the LEGO shoot for Play Unstoppable. #LEGO#PlayUnstoppable https://t.co/7WUUUxGVGI
— Sam Kerr (@samkerr1) June 6, 2023
“Anything is possible. I think so much of what girls hear often is in a very tight little box with so many limitations,” Rapinoe said about the project. “I think play is so important. It’s where our creativity comes out. It’s where we learn new things about ourselves and other people.
“It’s where we can really shed barriers and sort of shed the constraints around us.”
Rapinoe said that she’s tried to break those barriers during her own career, which has led her to be unapologetic about who she is.
“My mantra for play is just to be myself and try new things and to use that creativity. I feel like there’s never really any mistakes, it’s just something that you learn from,” she said.
“I think the world would be much better if girls lived without limits. It’s like half the population is being limited and put into a little box. Like, we can only get better if we’re allowed to be our full selves.”
Rapinoe has played in five matches for OL Reign since returning from an ankle injury and is expected to be named to the USWNT’s 23-player roster for the World Cup this month. The 37-year-old forward has previously won two World Cup titles with the U.S. in 2015 and ’19.
Kerr, meanwhile, is set to captain Australia at the World Cup. The 29-year-old recently scored the game-winner in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester United to claim the FA Cup title.
