Negotiating Gender in Professional Soccer: An Analysis of Female Footballers in the United States

Youth soccer is thriving in the United States but the country's soccer leagues over the past couple have had mixed results in terms of commercial viability some leagues surviving (e.g., MLS) and others (e.g., WUSA). While scholars and practitioners may explanations regarding the reasons for the specific challenges women's professional soccer leagues, the present looked at this subject by examining one group of - female elite athletes - and the players’ perceptions gender in the USA professional soccer program. findings of this qualitative analysis were concentrated into interconnected themes. The first theme involved the' perceptions of role models and their socialization soccer players. Media images and the invisibility of female athlete formed the second theme. The third theme the sexualization of elite female bodies and transgressions compulsory heterosexuality boundaries. The analysis the interviews revealed an interesting paradox of elite female using gender to understand sports. The interviewed used stereotypical notions of masculinity to their legitimacy as elite athletes, while at the same devaluing the abilities of female coaches by using notions of femininity. In addition to discussing empirical results and interconnected themes, the implications the findings are also detailed.