157-705: Seattle Reign FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle , Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign are owned by the private equity firm Carlyle Group and Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC . In 2020, OL Groupe , the parent company of French clubs Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin , became
314-838: A Paralympic event. The CONCACAF W Championship is a women's football competition organized by CONCACAF that often serves as the qualifying competition to the Women's World Cup and the Olympics. The CONCACAF W Gold Cup had its inaugural edition in 2024 . It featured 12 national teams (8 from the CONCACAF region, and 4 invited from the CONMEBOL region) and was won by the United States . European women's tournaments featuring national teams were held in Italy in 1969 and in 1979 as
471-584: A 53,000 strong crowd), women's football in England was halted in December 1921 when The Football Association outlawed the playing of the game on association members' pitches, the FA stating that "the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged." Players and football writers have argued that this ban was due to envy of the large crowds that women's matches attracted, and because
628-436: A 540-minute shutout streak, the second longest in tournament history, and allowed only three goals throughout the tournament. During the semi-final match against top-ranked Germany, she used stalling tactics to try to put the tournament's high scorer, Célia Šašić , off her rhythm at a penalty kick. Šašić missed the penalty kick, which kept the game scoreless. This marked the first time a German team, men's or women's, missed
785-401: A Seattle-based digital marketing agency. Prior to the start of the first season, Predmore stated, "Ultimately, my goal is to build the best women's club in the world. That won't happen tomorrow or this year, but in 10 years or 20 years that's where we want to be." Predmore's wife, Teresa, played college soccer at Oregon State University and soccer is one of her lifelong passions. Leading up to
942-562: A back-of-kit sponsor alongside the existing jersey sponsors Black Future Co-op Fund and Boeing. During the inaugural season of the NWSL , Reign FC played at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington . The stadium is located approximately 12 miles from downtown Seattle and is the training facility for Seattle Sounders FC , as well as where the Sounders play their U.S. Open Cup matches. With
1099-472: A ban from 1921 to 1970 in England that disallowed women's football on the grounds used by its member clubs. In many other nations, female footballers faced similarly hostile treatment and bans by male-dominated organisations. In the 1970s, international women's football tournaments were extremely popular, and the oldest surviving continental championship was founded, the AFC Women's Asian Cup . However,
1256-484: A capacity of 68,740; standard configuration for Reign games seats 10,000 but can expand based on demand for individual games. With the move back to Seattle , the team also exited the planned soccer-specific stadium project in Tacoma . OL Reign moved their practice facilities to Starfire Sports prior to the 2023 season; the team were allocated a new field that would be used until they replaced the Sounders, who plan to move to
1413-601: A crowd of 22,000. The tournament ran for a second year in season 1918–19, the winners being the ladies of Palmer's shipyard in Jarrow , who defeated Christopher Brown's of Hartlepool 1–0 at St James' Park in Newcastle on 22 March 1919. At the time of the First World War , female employment in heavy industry spurred the growth of the game, much as it had done for men fifty years earlier. A team from England played
1570-477: A goalkeeper with 55 games from March 7, 2002, to July 16, 2008. Solo was the starting goalkeeper for the United States in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup , surrendering two goals in four games, including consecutive shutouts of Sweden , Nigeria and England . Before the semifinal match against Brazil , U.S. coach Greg Ryan benched Solo in favor of 36-year-old veteran keeper Briana Scurry , who had
1727-483: A hotel. Solo described how it seemed like a vacation at first, but soon realized it was not. Police later found them at a downtown bank and arrested Jeffrey for alleged kidnapping. Although her parents had divorced when she was six and she lived with her mother, Solo maintained a close relationship with her father after reconnecting with him during her college years at the University of Washington . He continued to be
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#17327823267891884-539: A joint investigation by the league and the players' association in December 2022 found that he abused players by "weight-shaming" them. OL Reign finished 2nd in the regular season, led first by interim coach Sam Laity and then by Laura Harvey after her return. They fell once again in the semi-final, this time to the eventual champions Washington Spirit . The club announced in December 2021 that it would be returning to Seattle with Lumen Field as their new home stadium while continuing to train and operate out of Tacoma. In
2041-582: A local broadcast partnership with KING 5 Media Group . The first supporters group formed for the Reign is the Royal Guard. Founded by Matt Banks and Kiana Coleman in April 2013, the group became the first organized supporters group for a women's professional sports team in Washington state's history. Other supporters groups for the team have included Fortune's Favourites and Queen Anne Collective. Like
2198-641: A major influence in her life until his death of a heart attack in June 2007. As a forward at Richland High School , Solo scored 109 goals, leading her team to three consecutive league titles from 1996 to 1998 and a state championship during her senior year. She was twice named a Parade All American. Solo also played club soccer for the Three Rivers Soccer Club in the Tri-Cities . After being heavily recruited by several colleges around
2355-492: A new facility in 2024. As of 2020, NWSL matches are broadcast on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+ . International viewers can watch on nwslsoccer.com. In 2023, the league announced additional international streaming deals with DAZN and Tigo . From 2013 to 2016, Seattle Reign games were streamed live by Bootstrapper Studios via YouTube. The broadcasts were called by KOMO News Radio Sports Director, Tom Glasgow, with color commentary provided by Lesle Gallimore , head coach of
2512-399: A new team badge that includes the lion as a symbol for Lyon . The team returned to its original name of Seattle Reign FC on January 9, 2024, with a modified version of the original crest. The crest remains primarily blue and black with gold used for the crown to symbolize the team's NWSL Shields. In April 2013, Moda Health was announced as the team's jersey sponsor. The company remained
2669-525: A number of European women's leagues. However, the popularity and participation in women's football continues to grow. In 2022, FC Barcelona had the two largest reported attendances for women's football since the 1971 Women's World Cup final between Mexico and Denmark (110,000) at the Azteca Stadium , when they played Real Madrid (91,553) and Wolfsburg (91,648) at Camp Nou for the 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League . In April 2024,
2826-532: A penalty in a World Cup. She ended the tournament with 177 international caps and received the Golden Glove trophy as the best goalkeeper. On July 9, 2016, Solo earned her 100th international shutout, 150th career win and 197th cap in a friendly game against South Africa at Soldier Field in Chicago. This made Solo the first female goalkeeper to achieve 100 shutouts in international competition. On
2983-438: A pretext to force her out because of her prominent role in the national team's campaign for equal pay. Teammate Megan Rapinoe speculated that Solo's termination was "probably some legal strategy" on the part of U.S. Soccer. In announcing a legal challenge to U.S. Soccer's action, the players' lawyer Rich Nichols termed it "excessive, unprecedented, disproportionate, and a violation of Ms. Solo's First Amendment rights." Solo
3140-522: A professional women's soccer team in the Women's United Soccer Association nor Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) during either league's existence, the city was home to Seattle Sounders Women , a USL W-League team mainly composed of amateur players that was affiliated with Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer ; following news of the imminent demise of WPS in January 2012, a handful of players from
3297-442: A queen wearing a platinum crown (in a reference to the team name), while the alternate badge is monochrome and foregrounds the crown itself. Owner Bill Predmore stated, "Today's announcement is the result of a thoughtful process to identify the name that best represents the values of our club, articulates our long-term ambitions and celebrates the community within which our supporters live. Reign FC meets all of those objectives and at
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#17327823267893454-453: A replacement—other possible venues in the region are problematic due to size, location, or ancillary facilities. Reign FC owner Bill Predmore initially responded that, despite these challenges, the team would remain at Memorial Stadium for 2019. However, newly enforced standards by U.S. Soccer and NWSL made this untenable, and the team relocated to Tacoma, Washington in January 2019. Reign planned to play temporarily at Cheney Stadium while
3611-744: A retroactive recognition decided in 2003 . The first FIFA Women's World Cup was held in China in November 1991 and won by the United States . The runners-up, Norway , became the 1995 champions, beating Germany in that final, in Sweden. The United States won the 1999 final on penalties against China (with a competition-record crowd of over 90,000 in Pasadena ). Germany won consecutive world titles in 2003 and 2007, winning finals against Sweden and Brazil respectively. Japan became champions in 2011 ,
3768-517: A seating capacity for 4,500 spectators, the stadium also features a press box with full scoreboard and sound system capabilities. The pitch features FieldTurf . In February 2014, it was announced that the team would be moving to Memorial Stadium , located at the Seattle Center , for at least the 2014 and 2015 seasons; the Reign chose to remain there beyond the originally intended two seasons. The stadium features an artificial turf pitch that
3925-438: A shot by Mana Iwabuchi that could have tied the match. Solo recorded three shutouts: two against Colombia and North Korea in the group stage and one against New Zealand in the quarterfinal. She conceded six goals over the course of the tournament, three of which were scored by Christine Sinclair in the semifinal match, a 4–3 extra-time win against Canada. Along with defenders Christie Rampone and Kelley O'Hara , Solo
4082-594: A soccer-specific stadium shared with Tacoma Defiance was constructed. The new venue was originally set to open in 2021, but has since been delayed indefinitely due to feasibility issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic . During their time in Tacoma, OL Reign leased a practice field from Bellarmine Preparatory School and shared space with Foss High School . In December 2021, OL Reign announced that Lumen Field will become its home stadium beginning in 2022. Lumen Field has
4239-470: A strong history of performance against the Brazilians but had not played a complete game in three months. The U.S. lost to Brazil 4–0, ending a 51–game (regulation-time) undefeated streak. The team played much of the match with only 10 players after midfielder Shannon Boxx was disqualified after receiving two yellow cards in the first half. Following the match, Solo criticized Ryan's decision: "It
4396-485: A team from Ireland on Boxing Day 1917 in front of a crowd of 20,000 spectators. The Irish side of this match was dramatised in the play Rough Girls in 2021. Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. of Preston, England played in one of the first women's international matches against a French XI team in 1920, and also made up most of the England team against a Scottish Ladies XI in the same year, winning 22–0. Despite being more popular than some men's football events (one match saw
4553-510: A team tentatively named Seattle Sirens FC. In November 2012, it was confirmed that Predmore's application had been accepted and there would be a Seattle-based women's professional soccer team in 2013. On December 19, 2012, the team name was unveiled as Seattle Reign FC, named in honor of the 1990s Seattle Reign women's basketball team. Amy Carnell, a former general manager of the Sounders Women and Sounders FC's director of youth programs,
4710-518: A three-year agreement with A&E Networks , Lifetime broadcasts one NWSL Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons. For the 2017 season, the Reign were featured in nationally televised Lifetime NWSL Game of the Week broadcasts on May 27, July 8, August 26, and September 9, 2017. During the 2018 season, Lifetime match broadcasts featuring Seattle include May 5, July 21, and August 11, 2018. In 2024, 11 Reign games will be available on KONG-TV through
4867-455: A viable candidate for a team in a new professional league. In response to the demise of WPS, the USSF announced in June that it would found a new professional women's soccer league (later named National Women's Soccer League ) and invite prospective team owners to submit applications. Bill Predmore, founder and CEO of Seattle-based digital marketing agency, POP, submitted his application pitch for
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5024-564: A woman did not speak at the FIFA Congress until 1986 ( Ellen Wille ). The FIFA Women's World Cup was first held in China in 1991 and has since become a major television event in many countries. Women may have been playing football for as long as the game has existed. Evidence shows that a similar game ( cuju , also known as tsu chu ) was played by women during the Han dynasty (25–220 CE), as female figures are depicted in frescoes of
5181-457: A women's match in 1892. The British Ladies' Football Club was founded by activist Nettie Honeyball in England in 1894. Honeyball and those like her paved the way for women's football. However, the women's game was frowned upon by the British football associations, and continued without their support. It has been suggested that this was motivated by a perceived threat to the "masculinity" of
5338-497: Is a competition for women's national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). India won the first 5 editions, beating Nepal four times and Bangladesh once in the final. Bangladesh is the current champion having defeated Nepal by 3–1 goals on 19 September 2022 in the final. The OFC Women's Nations Cup is a women's football tournament for national teams who belong to
5495-491: Is an international women's football competition held every two years and sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It was first contested in 1991, but was not held biennially until 1998. Nigeria is the most successful nation in the tournament's history with 11 titles. The CAF Women's Champions League is an international competition that involves the top women's club teams from countries affiliated with
5652-405: Is married to former American football player Jerramy Stevens . They have been together since mid-August 2012 when she returned from the Olympics. On November 12, 2012, Stevens was arrested on investigation of assault following an altercation that left Solo injured. The following day, Stevens was released after a judge determined that insufficient evidence existed to hold him. The couple were wed
5809-628: Is the team sport of association football played by women . It is played at the professional level in multiple countries , and 187 national teams participate internationally . The same rules, known as the Laws of the Game , are used for both women's and men's football. After the "first golden age" of women's football occurred in the United Kingdom in the 1920s, with one match attracting over 50,000 spectators, The Football Association instituted
5966-487: The 1966 World Cup . The ban in England was maintained by the FA for nearly fifty years, until January 1970. The next year, UEFA recommended that the national associations in each country should manage the women's game. In 2002, Lily Parr of Dick Kerr's Ladies was the first woman to be inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. She was later honoured with a statue in front of
6123-537: The 1971 Women's World Cup , was hosted by Mexico the following year. The final, also won by Denmark, was played at Estadio Azteca , the largest stadium in North America at the time, in front of crowds estimated at 110,000 or 112,500 attendees. During the 1970s, Italy became the first country to have professional women's football players on a part-time basis. Italy was also the first country to import foreign footballers from other European countries, which raised
6280-662: The 2003 WUSA Draft by the Philadelphia Charge . She spent most of her first professional season on the bench, playing in eight games. Solo started the last three games of the season, and earned her first professional shutout against the Atlanta Beat . She also shut out eventual league champions, the Washington Freedom , led by top scorers Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach . After the WUSA folded following
6437-508: The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup , Solo missed a significant part of the season. She made four appearances for the club, tallying a total of 360 minutes. After the season ended, the club lost its franchise on October 25, 2011. The league later suspended operations in early 2012 because of legal and financial difficulties. On February 14, 2012, it was announced that Solo had signed with the Seattle Sounders Women . Joining
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6594-480: The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup , Solo helped the U.S. win the national team's third World Cup championship since 1991. The final against Japan was the most-watched televised soccer game ever in the United States. As of August 6, 2016 , Solo holds several U.S. goalkeeper records including appearances (202), starts (190), wins (153), shutouts (102), wins in a season (26), consecutive minutes played (1,256), and longest undefeated streak (55 games). Solo
6751-518: The 2016 season before joining the national team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After US Soccer suspended Solo and terminated her national team contract in August 2016 for saying that Sweden "played like cowards," she was granted "personal leave" by the Reign for the remainder of the NWSL season. She finished the season with a 0.63 GAA and 81% save percentage , including five clean sheets . Solo played for U.S. junior national soccer teams before joining
6908-574: The 2023–24 A-League Women season set the record for the most attended season of any women's sport in Australian history, with the season recording a total attendance of 284,551 on 15 April 2024, and finishing with a final total attendance of 312,199. The first known World Cup tournaments for women's teams are the 1970 Women's World Cup in Italy and the 1971 Women's World Cup in Mexico, both of which hold attendance records and were organised by
7065-779: The Challenge Cup , the Reign finished first in the West Division and earned the top seed overall but lost in the semifinal against the Washington Spirit in a penalty shoot-out . The team also won the mid-season invitational Women's Cup final against Louisville . In their final regular-season match, the Reign won the 2022 NWSL Shield , the team's third. The Reign moved their training facility to Starfire Sports . The club will become Starfire's main soccer tenant and operate out of there in 2024, after Seattle Sounders FC moves to their own facility. The team finished
7222-599: The English Ladies' Football Association was formed, with 58 affiliated clubs. A silver cup was donated by the first president of the association, Len Bridgett. A total of 23 teams entered the first competition in the spring of 1922. The winners were Stoke Ladies who beat Doncaster and Bentley Ladies 3–1 on 24 June 1922. In 1937, the Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. , who had lost to Scotland's Rutherglen Ladies in 1923 but continued to be proclaimed as "world champions", played
7379-564: The National Football League . A video showed Rice assaulting his wife in a hotel elevator and a grand jury indicted Peterson for child abuse. Senator Richard Blumenthal sent a sternly worded letter to U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati admonishing the organization for allowing Solo to remain on the World Cup roster and accusing them of inadequately addressing the charges of domestic violence. On January 13, 2015,
7536-692: The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The competition has served as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women's World Cup since 1991. After the lifting of the FA ban, the Women's Football Association held its first national knockout tournament , the 1970–71 WFA Cup . Southampton Women's F.C. was the inaugural winner and became the Cup-winner eight times. From 1983 to 1994, Doncaster Belles reached ten out of eleven finals, winning six of them. As of 2023, Chelsea are
7693-448: The Philadelphia Charge in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). When the WUSA folded after her first season, she traveled to Europe to play for the top division leagues in Sweden and France. From 2009 to 2011, she played in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) for Saint Louis Athletica , Atlanta Beat and magicJack . After the WPS ceased operations in early 2012, she played for
7850-549: The Seattle Sounders in the W-League . She most recently played for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League , the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Solo is regarded as one of the top female goalkeepers of all time and currently holds the U.S. record for most career clean sheets . She was the starting goalkeeper for the majority of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and helped lead
8007-670: The Seattle Sounders FC rivalry with the Portland Timbers , the Reign has a long-standing regional rivalry with Portland Thorns FC . In May 2015, a match between the two teams in Portland set a new attendance record with 21,144 fans cheering in the stadium. Their August 29, 2021, meeting was played at Lumen Field in Seattle as part of a doubleheader with the Sounders and Timbers, drawing 27,248 spectators to break
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#17327823267898164-520: The UEFA Women's Championship was then dominated by Germany , who won eight titles, including six in a row from 1995 to 2013. The only other teams to win, as of 2022, are Norway in 1993 , the Netherlands at home in 2017 , and England at home in 2022 . The UEFA Women's Champions League is an international competition that involves the top women's club teams from countries affiliated with
8321-563: The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) joined the Sounders Women for part of the 2012 W-League season. The Athletic cited the resulting close relationship between the Sounders Women and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in conditioning the USWNT players, along with significant fan interest generated during their stint with the team, as major factors that led the USSF to consider Seattle as
8478-647: The Washington Huskies . During the 2013 season, a select number of league games were broadcast on Fox Sports . During the 2014 season , several league games were broadcast by ESPN . In March 2015, the team became one of the first sports teams to use the newly released app Periscope to stream a preseason friendly against the Portland Pilots . In 2015, six select regular season games and the playoff matches were broadcast by Fox Soccer . The playoff final featuring Reign FC and FC Kansas City set what
8635-676: The Washington Spirit 2–1 in the playoff semifinals, the Reign was defeated 2–1 by FC Kansas City during the championship final. Following the regular season, the team earned several league awards. Kim Little won the Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player awards; Laura Harvey was named Coach of the Year; Kendall Fletcher , Jess Fishlock , Little and Nahomi Kawasumi were named to the NWSL Best XI team while goalkeeper Hope Solo and defenders Lauren Barnes and Stephanie Cox were named to
8792-504: The Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), was launched in 2009 and folded in late 2011. The following year, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was launched with initial support from the soccer federations of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In 2017, Liga MX Femenil was launched in Mexico and broke several attendance records. The league is composed of women's teams of the men's counterpart teams in Liga MX . On 20 March 2024,
8949-605: The 1982 appearance of the first women's league, Galanita. The Pertiwi Cup , which drew contestants from throughout all of Indonesia, was first played in 2006. The first professional league was held in 2019 under the name Liga 1 Putri . In Australia, the W-League, now known as A-League Women , was formed in 2008. In 2015, the Chinese Women's Super League (CWSL) was launched with an affiliated second division, CWFL. Previously, The Chinese Women's Premier Football League
9106-657: The 2003 season, just six days before the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup , Solo moved to Gothenburg, Sweden in February 2004 to play for Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC in the Swedish Premier Division , the top division of women's soccer in Sweden. For ten months, she played in two games a week, making 19 appearances in goal for Göteborg in 2004. In 2005, she played for Olympique Lyonnais in the French First Division . She made seven appearances for
9263-421: The 2016 season in fifth place with a 8–6–8 record, narrowly missing a playoff spot by two points. The season was complicated by a number of players being unavailable during the early part of the season due to injury including Manon Melis , Jess Fishlock and Megan Rapinoe . In early July, Nahomi Kawasumi returned to the Reign for the first time since the 2014 season and scored a brace in her first match with
9420-473: The 2023 season as runners-up in the NWSL Championship , losing 2–1 to NJ/NY Gotham FC . At the end of this season, forward Megan Rapinoe announced her retirement after eleven seasons with the club. On December 19, 2012, the team's name was unveiled as Seattle Reign FC . The team's colors were announced as white, platinum, royal blue and midnight black along with a neon green away colors The name
9577-464: The 2–1 loss to Sweden , which consigned the Americans to second place in the group and a quarterfinal meeting with Brazil. The quarterfinal match between the U.S. and Brazil was sent into a penalty shootout after U.S. forward Abby Wambach tied the game at 2–2 at the end of extra time. Solo saved Brazil's third penalty kick, helping the U.S. secure a semifinal spot against France . Solo became
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#17327823267899734-706: The African governing body CAF . The AFC Women's Asian Cup is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football competition and premier women's football competition in the AFC region for national teams. The SAFF Women's Championship , also called the South Asian Football Federation Women's Cup ,
9891-516: The Athletica and the Beat and was the league-leader in saves with 104. The two-time WPS All-Star also ranked among the top three in shutouts (6), wins (6), and goals against average (1.64). After the end of the 2010 season , Solo underwent surgery on her right shoulder on September 22. Ahead of the 2011 Women's Professional Soccer season , Solo signed for magicJack , formerly the Washington Freedom under new ownership. Between her shoulder surgery recovery, national team commitments and preparation for
10048-453: The Bronze Ball award for her overall performance. She was also featured in the "All-star" team of the tournament. Preceding the Summer Olympics , Solo received a public warning from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after a June 15 urine test detected the banned substance canrenone . Solo claimed that she had been prescribed a premenstrual medication and was unaware that it contained banned substances. The USADA confirmed her claim and she
10205-405: The D1 title to PSG until 2021 when PSG finished ahead of Lyon, and won five Coupe de France finals against Paris. In 2017 both teams reached the Champions League final, with Lyon beating Paris after a penalty shoot-out and winning its fourth title in the competition. While a number of features continue to improve, this is not the case for female coaches. They continue to be under-represented in
10362-433: The Edinburgh City Girls in the "Championship of Great Britain and the World". Dick, Kerr won the competition with a 5–1 scoreline. The 1939 competition was a more organised affair and the Edinburgh City Girls beat Dick, Kerr 5–2 in Edinburgh , following this up with a 7–1 demolition of Glasgow Ladies in Falkirk to take the title. The English Women's FA was formed in 1969 as a result of the increased interest generated by
10519-418: The European Competition for Women's Football . They were not recognized as "official" by UEFA, which opposed women's football until the 1970s. The UEFA championship began in 1984 under the name European Competition For Representative Women's Teams . Now, it is also commonly referred to as the UEFA Women's Euro. The 1984 tournament was won by Sweden . Norway won the 1987 edition. Between 1987 and 2013,
10676-471: The European governing body UEFA . The Copa América Femenina is the main competition in women's football between national teams that are affiliated with CONMEBOL . The Copa Libertadores Femenina , formally the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina , is the international club competition for women's teams that play in the CONMEBOL region. The competition started in 2009 in response to the increased interest in women's football. The Women's Africa Cup of Nations
10833-492: The FA had no control over the money made from the women's game. Dick, Kerr Ladies player Alice Barlow said, "we could only put it down to jealousy. We were more popular than the men and our bigger gates were for charity". Despite the ban, some women's teams continued to play. The Northern Rugby Union did not follow the FA ban, so the short-lived English Ladies Football Association (1921–1922) played some of its matches at rugby grounds. In other countries, women's football
10990-418: The French club. On September 16, 2008, Solo was one of three national team players allocated to the Saint Louis Athletica in the WPS as part of the 2008 WPS Player Allocation , with the new league slated to begin play in April 2009. Solo let in six goals in the first four games as Athletica got off to a very slow 0–2–2 start in their first season. She conceded eight goals in her next 13 games and finished
11147-460: The L. League – still in existence today as Division 1 of the Nadeshiko League . In 2020, Japan established the first-ever women's professional league in Asia, the WE League , which started on fall 2021. In Indonesia, the first recorded "national" women's football event, known as the "Kartini Cup", took place in 1981. The competition was held on an amateur level. Later competitions were also held in an amateur and semi-professional level, including
11304-477: The NWSL for 2014, to safeguard her place in the national team. Solo returned to the Reign for the 2014 season . The team set a league record unbeaten streak of 16 games during the first part of the season. During the 16 game stretch, the Reign compiled a 13–0–3 record. The Reign finished first in the regular season clinching the NWSL Shield for the first time. After defeating the Washington Spirit 2–1 in
11461-623: The Olympic women's teams do not have restrictions on professionalism or age. The participation of Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic tournament was a bone of contention because England and other British Home Nations are not eligible to compete as separate entities. Eventually, both the women's and men's Great Britain teams fielded some players from the other home nations, but without their associations' active support. Although there are women's teams of blind football (5-a-side) and cerebral palsy football (7-a-side), women's football has never been
11618-512: The Olympics three years ago. Now is what matters, and that's what I think." Many viewed her comments as critical of Scurry's performance, although Solo released an apologetic statement the following day stating that criticism was not her intent. On September 29, 2007, Ryan announced that Solo was no longer with the team and would not play in the third-place match against Norway the following day. Team captain Kristine Lilly stated that
11775-525: The Reign faced their first regular season match against the Chicago Red Stars at Benedictine University , in which Seattle's first college draft pick Christine Nairn scored the Reign's first goal of the season via a header off an assist from Liz Bogus . The point that Seattle earned in the game would be its only for the next nine games. In June 2013, head coach Laura Harvey began making some trades and signing new international players. With
11932-514: The Reign. Before the 2018 season , the team announced an agreement with Force 10 Sports Management, LLC, for it to manage ticket sales and services. Force 10 Sports Management owns and operates the Seattle Storm , a standalone professional women's basketball team in the WNBA , much like the Reign. On January 30, 2019, the Reign announced that it would move to Tacoma, Washington . As part of
12089-532: The Second XI team. The Reign finished the 2015 season in first place clinching the NWSL Shield for the second consecutive time. After defeating the Washington Spirit 3–0 in a playoff semifinal, the Reign was defeated 1–0 by FC Kansas City during the championship final in Portland. Following the regular season, the team earned several league award nominations. Kim Little, Jess Fishlock, and Bev Yanez were nominated for league Most Valuable Player, Laura Harvey
12246-612: The Tacoma Rainiers taking over similar responsibilities at Cheney Stadium . After winning the 2019 NWSL Coach of the Year award, head coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned to manage the United States women's national soccer team on October 28, 2019. As his departure had been anticipated, co-owner and president Bill Predmore had already begun the search for Andonovski's successor since early September. Women%27s association football Women's association football , more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer ,
12403-431: The U.S. Soccer team van. Stevens refused a blood or breathalyzer test, so officers obtained a search warrant to draw a blood sample, which determined that his blood-alcohol concentration was at least 0.15%. Solo was suspended for 30 days by the team for showing poor judgment in entering the car and arguing with the police. In May, Stevens was sentenced to 30 days in jail and four years of probation. The judge also mandated
12560-439: The U.S. national team to the semifinals having given up only two goals in four games, including three consecutive shutouts. After a controversial move made by head coach Greg Ryan to bench Solo in favor of veteran goalkeeper Briana Scurry for the semifinal, in which the United States was defeated 4–0 by Brazil , Solo made headlines with post-game remarks that resulted in many teammates shunning her. She later rebounded to help
12717-568: The United States win gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics . During the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup , her goalkeeping skills were highlighted, especially during a quarter-final match against Brazil, which the U.S. won on penalty kicks . Although the team lost to Japan in a match that ended in penalties, Solo received the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper as well as the Bronze Ball award for her overall performance at
12874-529: The United States' quarterfinal defeat by Sweden. During the penalty shootout, she caused an interruption of several minutes when changing her gloves before Sweden's final kick, in an apparent act of gamesmanship . Lisa Dahlkvist laughed at Solo's antics before converting the penalty to eliminate the United States. Following the match, Solo called her opponents "a bunch of cowards" in reference to their defensive tactics . The International Olympic Committee called Solo's comments "disappointing" but said that she
13031-504: The case. On May 24, 2018, the city of Kirkland dismissed all domestic violence charges against her. Attorney Melissa Osman, who represents the city, wrote in court documents that the circumstances of the case were "unlikely to recur”, and prosecution witnesses did not wish to testify. On January 19, 2015, Solo's husband Jerramy Stevens was arrested in Manhattan Beach, California for suspicion of DUI while he had been driving
13188-535: The club the same year were national teammates Alex Morgan , Megan Rapinoe , and Sydney Leroux . Because of national team commitments and preparation for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Solo made three appearances for the club, tallying a total of 261 minutes. Her goals against average was 0.344, she made five saves and had one shutout. With the addition of Solo and her national team teammates, the Sounders sold out nine of their ten home matches at Starfire Stadium (capacity: 4,500). The average attendance during league matches
13345-472: The country's first senior football world championship. The United States won the tournament again in 2015 and 2019 . Spain won the tournament for the first time in 2023 . Since Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament , a Women's Football Tournament has been staged at the Olympic Games . Unlike in the men's Olympic Football tournament (based on teams of mostly under-23 players),
13502-601: The country, Solo attended the University of Washington from 1999 to 2002 where she majored in speech communications. With the Huskies , she switched permanently to goalkeeper under the lead of head coach Lesle Gallimore and goalkeeper coach and former national team player, Amy Griffin . Solo became the top goalkeeper in Pac-10 history and finished her collegiate career as Washington's all-time leader in shutouts (18), saves (325) and goals against average (GAA) (1.02). She
13659-433: The decision regarding Solo was made by the team as a group. The U.S. defeated Norway 4–1. Solo was named to the national team roster for the post-World Cup tour but did not attend the workout ahead of the first game against Mexico . Although the players' contract with the federation stipulated that anyone on the World Cup roster had the right to play in the tour, she did not play in any of the three games against Mexico and
13816-404: The defendants and delayed a decision on whether charges against Solo would be dropped until January 6, 2015. Following her arrest, Solo missed one game for the Reign and the NWSL allowed her to continue playing through the end of the 2014 season. There was some debate in the media about a perceived double standard after pro football players Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson had been suspended by
13973-486: The early summer, the Reign turned their regular season record around and finished the season in seventh place with a 5–14–3 record. Solo started in all 14 matches in which she played with a 1.357 goals against average. She made 81 saves and tallied 1,260 minutes in goal. In October 2013 Solo was linked with a transfer to English club Manchester City . Despite the relatively high salary reportedly offered by Manchester, Reign FC coach Laura Harvey expected Solo to return to
14130-554: The first professional women's soccer league in the United States, the WUSA , was launched and lasted three years. The league was spearheaded by members of the World Cup-winning American team and featured players like Mia Hamm , Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain , as well as top-tier international players like Germany's Birgit Prinz and China's Sun Wen . A second attempt towards a sustainable professional league,
14287-457: The first round proper getting more than the women's winners. Hope Solo Hope Amelia Stevens ( née Solo ; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper . She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist . After playing at the collegiate level for the University of Washington , she played professionally for
14444-433: The first time that both men's and women's professional soccer teams in Seattle share the same jersey sponsor and Seattle only the second-ever American city to hold this distinction. Despite the new jersey sponsor, Microsoft remains the team's technology partner and will continue to provide sports analytics to the coaching staff. During an unveiling event for the new secondary jersey in April 2019, aerospace corporation Boeing
14601-399: The game. In August 1917, a tournament was launched for female munition workers' teams in north-east England. Officially titled the "Tyne Wear & Tees Alfred Wood Munition Girls Cup", it was also known as "The Munitionettes' Cup". The first winners of the trophy were Blyth Spartans , who defeated Bolckow Vaughan 5–0 in a replayed final tie at Middlesbrough on 18 May 1918 in front of
14758-671: The heat of the moment. "I could not be the player I am without being the person I am, even when I haven't made the best choices or said the right things. My entire career, I have only wanted the best for this team, for the players and the women's game and I will continue to pursue these causes with the same unrelenting passion with which I play the game." — Hope Solo On August 24, 2016, U.S. Soccer suspended Solo for six months and terminated her national team contract, her second such suspension. The governing body said that Solo's previous misconduct had influenced its decision. Solo reacted angrily, saying that her comments had been used as
14915-448: The inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup tournament held in 1991 to the 1,194,221 tickets sold for the 1999 Women's World Cup , visibility and support of women's professional football had increased around the globe. However, as in some other sports, women's pay and opportunities are lower in comparison with professional male football players. Both national and international women's football have far less television and media coverage than
15072-464: The inaugural season of the NWSL, Amy Carnell was named general manager for the team. Within a week of regular season play, Carnell resigned from her position citing "personal reasons" and head coach Laura Harvey assumed the role – a setup similar to what she was used to as coach of the Arsenal L.F.C. in England. Following the 2017 season , Laura Harvey resigned as general manager and head coach of
15229-524: The international women's association FIEFF . Some other major tournaments were the Women's World Invitational Tournament in Taiwan (1978–1987) and the Women's Mundialito in Japan and Italy (1981–1988). FIFA effectively ignored women's football prior to the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China. FIFA's first officially-recognised women's international match is France–Netherlands (1971), albeit
15386-459: The jersey sponsor for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. In 2016, Microsoft was named as the new jersey sponsor and "presenting partner". The team also uses Microsoft technology on and off the pitch as part of the partnership. In January 2019, Seattle-based online retailer Zulily was announced as the team's new presenting partner and third-ever jersey sponsor. On the same day, Seattle Sounders FC also announced Zulily as its new jersey partner, making it
15543-486: The judge dismissed the charges against Solo based on a lack of cooperation from both alleged victims. Solo claimed that she had defended herself from an attack by her nephew. However, prosecutors filed an appeal with the Superior Court of Washington. In October 2015, the prosecution prevailed in the Superior Court and the charges were reinstated. In June 2016, the state appeals court denied Solo's petition to review
15700-533: The league in collaboration with the NWSL , announced a new international competition named Summer Cup . This competition will feature six teams from Liga MX Femenil that will compete against teams from the NWSL. The inaugural edition is scheduled to kick-off in July 2024. A 2014 FIFA report stated that at the beginning of the 21st century, women's football was growing in both popularity and participation, and more professional leagues were being launched worldwide. From
15857-474: The league with a 5–14–3 record. During the 2014 season, the Reign set a league record unbeaten streak of 16 games. During the 16-game stretch, the Reign compiled a 13–0–3 record. The streak came to an end July 12, 2014, in a match against the Chicago Red Stars that ended 1–0 in favor of the Red Stars. The team finished first in the regular season clinching the NWSL Shield for the first time. After defeating
16014-459: The league's attendance record. After losing twice to FC Kansas City during the NWSL championship final in 2014 and 2015 despite winning first place in the league, the Reign also considered FC Kansas City to be a rival. However, Kansas City folded after the 2017 season, with their head coach Vlatko Andonovski joining the Reign. An expansion team returned to the Kansas City area in 2021, and
16171-463: The loss of core players Kim Little and Keelin Winters following the 2016 season, the Reign faced a bit of re-structuring for the 2017 season . Three 2017 NWSL College Draft rookies were signed including defender Maddie Bauer , forward Katie Johnson , and midfielder Kristen McNabb . With Kim Little moving back to Arsenal, the Reign re-signed attacking midfielder Christine Nairn , who had played for
16328-510: The men's equivalent, but also generally have far lower average attendances. This discrepancy is on-going, while research indicates some viewers are not even able to distinguish between professional women's and men's football. Olympique Lyonnais main rivalry is with Paris Saint-Germain , with matches between the two teams sometimes referred as the "Classique féminin". Paris is OL's main contender for national titles, as they finished in second place of D1 Féminine seven times. Lyon had never lost
16485-612: The move, the team announced two new minority owners: the Baseball Club of Tacoma LLC (the owner and operator of the Tacoma Rainiers , led by Mikal Thomsen), as well as Seattle Sounders FC majority owner Adrian Hanauer and his mother Lenore Hanauer. Bill and Teresa Predmore remained the team's majority owners, and Bill the team president, after the additional investments. The relocation also brought previous management agreement with Force 10 Sports Management to an end, with
16642-595: The museum. It was not until 2008 (87 years later), that the FA issued an apology for banning women from the game of football. In 1970, the Torino-based Federation of Independent European Female Football (FIEFF) ran the 1970 Women's World Cup in Italy, supported by the Martini & Rossi strong wine manufacturers, and entirely without the involvement of FIFA . This event was at least partly played by clubs and won by Denmark. A second edition,
16799-444: The next day. In December 2019, Solo announced that she and Stevens were expecting twins. They were born on March 4, 2020. In 2014, Solo was one of the victims of the iCloud leaks of celebrity photos , during which several nude pictures of her were leaked online. She expressed solidarity with the other women affected and criticized the perpetrators, stating "This act goes beyond the bounds of human decency". On June 21, 2014, Solo
16956-588: The occasion of her 200th cap, Solo made several saves as the United States beat France 1–0 following their opening 2–0 win over New Zealand. In the final group fixture against Colombia , Solo made two errors and the game resulted in a 2–2 draw. During the matches, Solo had been jeered by the Brazilian crowds, who chanted "Zika" when she touched the ball in response to her pre-tournament social-media post with various anti-mosquito products in relation to 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic . Solo attracted more controversy in
17113-590: The period playing tsu chu . Annual matches being played in Midlothian , Scotland, are reported as early as the 1790s. In 1863, football governing bodies introduced standardized rules to prohibit violence on the pitch, making it more socially acceptable for women to play. The first match of an international character took place in 1881 at Hibernian Park in Edinburgh , part of a tour by Scotland and England teams. The Scottish Football Association recorded
17270-449: The playoff semi-finals, the Reign were defeated 2–1 by FC Kansas City during the championship final. Following the regular season, Solo and Reign defenders Lauren Barnes and Stephanie Cox were named to the Second XI team, and Solo was one of three finalists for NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year . Solo finished the 2014 season with 65 saves in 20 games played and a .900 goals against average. Solo made eight appearances for Seattle during
17427-466: The profile of the league. Players during that era included Susanne Augustesen (Denmark), Rose Reilly and Edna Neillis (Scotland), Anne O'Brien (Ireland) and Concepcion Sánchez Freire (Spain). Sweden was the first to introduce a professional women's domestic league in 1988, the Damallsvenskan . In 1989, Japan became the first country to have a semi-professional women's football league,
17584-523: The regular season, Harvey took over as general manager after Amy Carnell resigned. On January 11, 2013, Kaylyn Kyle , Teresa Noyola , Megan Rapinoe , Amy Rodriguez , Jenny Ruiz , Hope Solo , and Emily Zurrer were named to the team as part of the NWSL Player Allocation . On January 18, the Reign selected Christine Nairn , Mallory Schaffer, Kristen Meier , and Haley Kopmeyer at the 2013 NWSL College Draft . On February 4, 2013, it
17741-531: The rivalry was revived in 2022 when the Kansas City Current won the playoff semifinal in front of a record-breaking crowd of 21,491 in Seattle. A team from Kansas City has eliminated the Reign in the playoffs in all three of the club's Shield-winning seasons. OL Reign was wholly owned by Bill and Teresa Predmore from its establishment until January 2019. Bill Predmore was a co-founder and the CEO of POP,
17898-568: The same time honors the legacy of professional women's sports in Seattle. Like the Seattle Sounders, whose fans selected a name that honored those who pioneered the sport of soccer in Seattle in the early 1970s, Seattle Reign FC was, in part, selected to pay homage those visionaries – the leaders and players of the Seattle Reign women's basketball team – who pioneered professional women's sports in Seattle." On January 30, 2019, it
18055-464: The season after being suspended from the U.S. national team. In September, four-year team captain Keelin Winters announced her retirement for the end of the season. On October 17, midfielder Kim Little announced that she would leave the Reign and return to Arsenal . Harvey said Little was given an "incredible offer" of a multi-year contract, though no other details were disclosed. Following
18212-511: The season and remained largely in second place behind a dominant North Carolina Courage team, until a loss to Cascadia rival Portland Thorns FC at the end of the regular season dropped it to third place. This set up a semi-final rematch with the Thorns FC away from home, which the team lost 2–1. Despite the late slide, Andonovski led the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 in his first season in charge. On January 30, 2019,
18369-778: The season with eight shutouts, helping lead the Athletica from the bottom of the standings to finish second place and secure a playoff spot. After the 2009 season , Solo was named the WPS Goalkeeper of the Year. She also became the first goalkeeper to be named U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year , the highest honor awarded to a soccer player in the United States. In May 2010, the Saint Louis Athletica folded and Solo signed with WPS expansion team, Atlanta Beat , along with her St. Louis teammates, Tina Ellertson and Eniola Aluko . As her previous jersey number
18526-520: The season. Amy Rodriguez announced she was pregnant with her first child and would not be playing during the inaugural season. Hope Solo would be away for the first part of the season after recovering from wrist surgery and Megan Rapinoe had already signed with French club Olympique Lyonnais from January to June and would miss at least nine games. After traveling to Japan in the preseason to play matches against defending L. League champion INAC Kobe Leonessa , Fukuoka J. Anclas , and Nojima Stella Kanagawa ,
18683-552: The senior U.S. national team in 2000. Her senior debut came in an 8–0 win over Iceland at Davidson, North Carolina , in April 2000. In 2004, Solo joined the national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens as an alternate behind primary goalkeeper Briana Scurry and backup Kristin Luckenbill . Solo has been the team's first choice goalkeeper since 2005. She holds the national team record for longest undefeated streak as
18840-509: The starting goalkeeper for the U.S. team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In a reversal of roles from the 2004 Olympics, Briana Scurry did not make the team, although she was named an alternate. On August 21, the U.S. women's team won the gold medal by defeating Brazil 1–0 in extra time. After the team won gold, Solo appeared on the Today show. In a 2012 article, she revealed that she
18997-525: The team announced that it would relocate to Cheney Stadium in Tacoma for the 2019 season and re-brand itself as Reign FC. This relocation, as well as two new minority ownership groups (Mikal Thomsen, owner of the Tacoma Rainiers and Adrian Hanauer , owner of the Seattle Sounders FC , as well as his mother, philanthropist Lenore Hanauer), secured the team's long-term future by addressing long-standing stadium issues. A new soccer-specific 5,000 capacity stadium that would host Reign and Tacoma Defiance games
19154-451: The team defeated France 1–0 during a friendly match in Tampa, Florida . The record had been previously set by Briana Scurry . On September 13, she set a new record with her 72nd shutout in a friendly match against Mexico, an 8–0 win for the U.S. On January 21, 2015, Solo was suspended by the national team for 30 days following an undisclosed incident at a training camp. In April 2015, Solo
19311-410: The team during its inaugural season. The team also signed Canadian international Diana Matheson and Australian international Larissa Crummer , though they spent the majority of the season injured, as well as New Zealand international defender Rebekah Stott . The Reign finished in fifth place for the second consecutive season narrowly missing a playoff spot after losing 1–0 to Kansas City. Megan Rapinoe
19468-474: The team's majority owner and the team played as OL Reign from 2020 to 2023. Laura Harvey is the team's head coach; she led the team to two consecutive NWSL Shield wins in 2014 and 2015 and a third in 2022. Seattle Reign FC has played its home matches at Lumen Field since 2022. The team previously played at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila (2013), at Memorial Stadium (2014–18), and at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma (2019–21). Although Seattle never had
19625-411: The team, and Vlatko Andonovski was hired from FC Kansas City as the new head coach. Andonovski and Harvey had been the two most successful coaches in NWSL history, with three Coach of the Year awards and four trophies between them, and Andonovski was the only replacement Harvey endorsed. Andonovski further complimented Harvey's positive impacts and committed to continue playing a "beautiful game" with
19782-474: The team. Rachel Corsie and Haley Kopmeyer suffered injuries during a match in July against the Western New York Flash that was controversially played on a baseball field. Schedule changes from previous years were announced in February that resulted in an imbalance amongst team matchups. In late August, the Reign announced that Hope Solo was taking a leave of absence for the remainder of
19939-441: The team. The amicable transition nonetheless led to new vision for the team and new players, with Andonovski bringing in 11 new players on the season-opening roster. Notably, Andonovski traded for US international Allie Long and Australian international Steph Catley , while English international Jodie Taylor and Danish international Theresa Nielsen joined on free transfers from abroad. The refreshed team performed well throughout
20096-482: The title holders and Arsenal are the club with a record 14 wins. Despite tournament sponsorship by some companies, entering the cup actually costs clubs more than they get in prize money. In 2015, it was reported that even if Notts County were to win the tournament, the £8,600 winnings would leave them out of pocket. The winners of the Men's FA Cup in the same year received £1.8 million, with teams that did not even reach
20253-462: The tournament. Following her performance at the 2011 World Cup, Solo participated in the television show Dancing with the Stars and posed for various magazines, most notably the " Body Issue " of ESPN The Magazine . After the 2012 London Olympics, where she received her second Olympic gold medal, she published her bestselling autobiography Solo: A Memoir of Hope . As the starting goalkeeper at
20410-408: The trades and the return of Solo and Rapinoe, the Reign began to turn the season around with a 1–1 tie against the Western New York Flash . The game would be the first of a six-game undefeated streak for the Reign with two ties and four wins. After losing to regional rival Portland Thorns FC 2–1 in the season finale in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,855, the Reign ended the 2013 NWSL season seventh in
20567-456: The twenty-seventh American woman and second goalkeeper to reach 100 caps with her start in the 3–1 semifinal win over France. In the final , the U.S. team lost 3–1 in a penalty shootout to Japan , after twice taking the lead in an eventual 2–2 draw. Solo expressed admiration for the Japanese team and offered her congratulations. Solo won the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper, and
20724-486: Was a four-time All-Pac-10 selection and was named an NSCAA All-American as a sophomore, junior and senior. During her sophomore year, Solo was named Pac-10 Player of the Year becoming the first Washingtonian and first goalkeeper ever to receive the award. As a senior, she was the only goalkeeper nominated for the Hermann Trophy . Following her college career, Solo was selected in the first round (fourth overall) of
20881-489: Was announced as a kit sponsor for a slot on the back of both jerseys. The jersey partnership with Zulily concluded after the 2020 season. Heading into the 2021 season, OL Reign elected to feature the Black Future Co-op Fund on the front of their jerseys until a new presenting sponsor is secured. At the start of the 2022 regular season, Tacoma-based healthcare group MultiCare Health System was announced as
21038-429: Was announced that the team had signed four free agents: Kate Deines , Jess Fishlock , Tiffany Cameron , and Lindsay Taylor . During the 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft , the team selected Nikki Krzysik , Lauren Barnes , Laura Heyboer , Liz Bogus , Michelle Betos and Kaley Fountain . Leading into the preseason, it was learned that the Reign would be without all of their American allocated players for almost half of
21195-497: Was announced that the team would relocate to Tacoma, Washington and rename as simply Reign FC . As part of the rebrand, the team released a slightly modified visual identity and a new primary team badge that removed the word "Seattle" from the original badge. Following the acquisition of the team by OL Groupe in January 2020, the team announced another rebrand on March 6, 2020, as OL Reign , with new primary colors of blue, white, and gold to match those from Olympique Lyonnais and
21352-433: Was arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault in the fourth degree, one against her half-sister and the other against her nephew. She was booked under her married name of Hope Amelia Stevens. After pleading not guilty, she was released the following day. Her trial was scheduled for November 4, 2014, but it was delayed until January 20, 2015. On December 30, 2014, the judge ordered more depositions from
21509-535: Was born in Richland , Washington on July 30, 1981, to Judy Lynn ( née Shaw) and Jeffrey Solo. Her father, an Italian-American Vietnam War veteran , who was in and out of her life as a child and teenager, taught her how to play soccer at a young age. When Solo was seven, her father picked her and her brother Marcus up to go to a baseball game in the nearby city of Yakima , but ended up driving over three hours west to Seattle, where they stayed for several days at
21666-404: Was cleared with a public warning. The positive test did not require Solo to withdraw from any pre-Olympic matches. Trailing France in the opening match, Solo sent a free kick to Alex Morgan , who then scored to spark a 4–2 comeback victory. On August 9, Solo won her second Olympic gold medal with a 2–1 defeat of Japan in the final match. Solo made many saves, including an 82nd-minute save of
21823-552: Was drunk while on the show: "When we were done partying, we got out of our dresses, got back into our stadium coats and, at 7 a.m. with no sleep, went on the Today show drunk." Despite missing much of the qualifying campaign with a shoulder injury, Solo was named to the U.S. roster for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. After keeping clean sheets in group C wins over North Korea and Colombia , Solo conceded two goals in
21980-486: Was four times higher than the second most attended team in the league. On January 19, 2013, it was announced that Solo was one of three members from the United States national team, along with Megan Rapinoe and Amy Rodriguez , allocated to the Seattle Reign FC for the inaugural season of the National Women's Soccer League , as part of the NWSL Player Allocation . Two months later, it was reported that she
22137-600: Was further debilitated by nationwide bans which often resembled the English FA's measures. The German Football Association banned women's football from 1955 until 1970. Women's football was also banned in France from 1941 to 1970. In Brazil, the Vargas regime and the military dictatorship legally prohibited women and girls from playing football from 1941 to 1979. Following the FA ban on women's teams on 5 December 1921,
22294-417: Was initiated in 1997 and evolved to the Women's Super League in 2004. From 2011 to 2014, the league was named the Women's National Football League. The Indian Women's League was launched in 2016. The country has held the top-tier tournament, Indian Women's Football Championship , since 1991. In 1985, the United States women's national soccer team was formed. Following the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup ,
22451-571: Was installed in 2013 and a seating capacity of 12,000 spectators, although seating capacity was set at 6,000 for the beginning of the 2014 season . The stadium was the previous home of the Seattle Sounders from 1974–1975 when the team played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and from 1995 to 2002 when the new incarnation of the team played in the A-League . In late 2017, the team's future in Seattle beyond 2018
22608-410: Was named general manager of the Reign. On December 21, 2012, the team announced Laura Harvey as its first head coach. Harvey was head coach of Arsenal L.F.C. from 2010–2012 after serving as an assistant for two years, assisted and then coached Birmingham City L.F.C. from 2002–2008, and served as an assistant coach for England's U-17 , U-19 and U-23 women's national teams from 2005–2011. Before
22765-511: Was named to the U.S. roster for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada by head coach Jill Ellis . Solo started and played all possible minutes (630) in all seven of the team's matches. The U.S. won the tournament, with record-breaking television viewership that topped 750 million television viewers. After surrendering a goal in the 27th minute of the team's first group-stage match against Australia , Solo made three game-saving saves. She had
22922-409: Was nominated for Coach of the Year; and Lauren Barnes and Kendall Fletcher were nominated for Defender of the Year. Laura Harvey was ultimately named Coach of the Year for a second consecutive year. Barnes, Little, Yanez, and Fishlock were named to the NWSL Best XI team while Kendall Fletcher, Stephanie Cox , Megan Rapinoe, and Keelin Winters were named to the Second XI team. The Reign finished
23079-421: Was one of three players on the team who played all 570 minutes during the team's six matches. In March 2013, Solo underwent surgery to repair a persistent injury in her left wrist and did not play for approximately three months. She returned to the national team in June. The team finished 2013 undefeated in 16 games, with 13 wins. On June 14, 2014, Solo tied the U.S. record for career shutouts with 71 after
23236-692: Was planned adjacent to Cheney Stadium. In their first season playing in Tacoma, the Reign finished 4th in the regular season, to qualify for the NWSL Playoffs but were knocked out by the North Carolina Courage in the semi-final. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the regular season was cancelled in 2020. Instead, the newly renamed OL Reign took part in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup and the NWSL Fall Series . Head coach Farid Benstiti resigned in July for undisclosed reasons;
23393-402: Was replaced by Briana Scurry for the first and third matches, and Nicole Barnhart for the second. The third match against Mexico, on October 20, 2007, marked the end of the team's 2007 season. The team regrouped in January 2008 to begin preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics . Ryan left the team after his contract was not renewed in December 2007. On June 23, 2008, Solo was announced as
23550-494: Was seen as uncertain due to issues with Memorial Stadium. The facility does not meet league standards for playing surfaces set to be enforced in 2019. Additionally, the stadium is owned by the Seattle School District , which has announced plans to build a new high school in that area of the city, with the stadium being the most likely site. The Reign were seen by national soccer media as lacking viable options for
23707-616: Was selected in part as homage to the first professional women's sports team in Seattle, the Seattle Reign , a defunct professional basketball team in the American Basketball League . That team was in turn named after its location in King County , and as a pun alluding to Seattle's rainy climate. In conjunction with the colors, the team also released its primary and alternate badges: the primary badge features
23864-538: Was taken (1), she wore 78 for the Beat. Solo's comments on social networking website Twitter led to two separate controversies after she accused Boston Breakers supporters of offensive chanting and racist remarks toward a teammate, then questioned the integrity of match officials and the league itself following the Beat's 1–0 defeat to Washington Freedom . The second outburst resulted in a $ 2,500 fine and one-game suspension. Solo played in 22 WPS matches in 2010 for both
24021-404: Was the team's leading scorer (and league's third highest) with 12 goals. Her season performance contributed to her nomination as FIFA World Player of the Year the following year. After two consecutive seasons of fifth-place finishes and thus outside of the playoffs, head coach and general manager Laura Harvey stepped down and was replaced by former rival Vlatko Andonovski as new head coach of
24178-407: Was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And the fact of the matter is it's not 2004 anymore. It's not 2004. And it's 2007, and I think you have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past. It doesn't matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold medal game in
24335-416: Was then a league record, averaging 167,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1 – an increase of 7 percent compared to the 2014 final broadcast on ESPN2. That record stood until the 2016 NWSL finals between Western New York and Washington, which averaged more than 180,000 viewers. In 2017, Reign games were streamed exclusively by Go90 for American audiences and via the NWSL website for international viewers. As part of
24492-435: Was undergoing wrist surgery and would miss about half the season because of recovery. Joining news that Amy Rodriguez would be out for the season because of pregnancy and Megan Rapinoe would be returning mid-season after a six-month stint for Olympique Lyonnais, the Reign faced a tough first half of the season and went 0–9–1 in their first ten games. With the return of Solo, Rapinoe, and some additional lineup changes made during
24649-550: Was unlikely to face formal disciplinary action, adding "People are free to say those things. We wouldn't stop their right to express themselves, within boundaries, obviously." Swedish coach Pia Sundhage was more blunt in her assessment, saying: "I don't give a crap. I'm going to Rio, she's going home." She later said, "I think she was just stressed, and that she did not really mean it." Swedish players Lotta Schelin , Lisa Dahlkvist and Kosovare Asllani voiced their empathy for Solo, dismissing her comments as having been said during
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