Simply click on their names to read their fascinating biographies. We have identified lesbian football/soccer players from Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Germany, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Japan, Chile, the United States, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Mexico, Spain, Scotland, and France. However, there remains a wide gap in compensation levels for women football/soccer players compared to men. Kerr has been the all-time leading scorer in both the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Australian W-League since 2019. She’s the Australian National Football Team’s current captain.
For its part, the sports' regulatory body FIFA has imposed hefty fines on sports clubs whose fans display homophobic behaviour.īeing an out lesbian football/soccer player has not reduced the marketability or sponsorship potential of an athlete, unlike in many other sports. Samantha Kerr is the best female soccer player in 2021 who plays for Chelsea in the English FA Women’s Super League. It also points out the responsibility of fans to call out homophobia when they see or hear it, rather than being silent and complicit to the act. The situation does point out the important, and often brave, role which being visible and out has in the promotion of tolerance and diversity. This is more a reflection of mob mentality than the fact that a majority of fans are homophobes.
Nevertheless, lesbian football/soccer players still face considerable amounts of homophobic abuse from fans. Wambach has been open about her sexual orientation throughout her life and career and married her long time partner in 2013. Soccer Athlete of the Year a record six times. American Abby Wambach is so popular that toy company Mattel launched a new Barbie design dedicated to her on her retirement in 2015 and after she won two Olympic gold medals, a World Cup, and was named U.S. Some have become household names in their home countries due to their success in representing their country. They compete in regional divisions, world cups, and the Olympic games.
The majority of these professional football/soccer athletes play not only on teams in local sports leagues, but also on national teams. The most prominent of these include Germany's Steffi Jones (now with senior management at FIFA), Sweden's Pia Sundhage (former coach of the American national team), and Great Britain's Hope Powell (coach of their national team). This evolution is reflected in the large number of former out players who have remained in the sport and graduated to become either lesbian coaches or managers. This culture has been present since the organizational beginning of the sport.
The reason for this is entirely because of the culture of acceptance within the governing bodies of the sport, the teams, and among the players themselves. In fact, women's football had the most out players of all sports included in the 2016 Olympic Summer Games. This occurs across a broad swathe of regions and countries, and is in marked contrast to the situation in men's professional sports. Out lesbians in professional football/soccer are quite prevalent and prominent in their sport.