NJ/NY Gotham FC will make history on Monday as the first NWSL team to be honored at the White House. The visit celebrates their victory in the 2023 NWSL Championship, a 2-1 win over OL Reign (now Seattle Reign FC). The landmark invitation marks a significant moment for women’s professional soccer, as no NWSL team has previously received a White House invitation in the league’s 11-year history, according to Jeff Kassouf of ESPN.
Gotham FC defeated the OL Reign in the championship match last November. The game marked the culmination of the careers of legendary players like Ali Krieger, with Gotham, and Megan Rapinoe, with the Reign. Unfortunately for the latter, the championship game was less than a storybook ending to Rapinoe’s professional career, not just because of her team’s loss to Gotham, but because she left the game in the sixth minute after suffering a lower right leg injury.
The championship marked Gotham’s first league title, and capped an incredible turnaround for the team, who finished in last place just a year prior. Gotham’s players, coaching staff and ownership, along with NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman, will join President Joe Biden for the celebratory event.
Though the White House traditionally honors sports teams for championship wins, these visits have largely been reserved for men’s teams. Gotham’s upcoming visit symbolizes a growing recognition of women’s professional sports in the U.S. This comes in the wake of other women’s sports teams, including the South Carolina women’s basketball team, who recently celebrated their 2023-24 national championship with a White House visit.
In 2010, Gotham FC’s predecessor, Sky Blue FC, was honored at the White House by President Barack Obama after winning the inaugural title of the now-defunct Women’s Professional Soccer league. Gotham’s visit marks the franchise’s return to Washington, D.C., albeit under a new name and league.
–Women’s teams like Gotham FC receiving more recognition
Gotham’s achievement adds to the growing list of women’s sports teams receiving White House recognition, mirroring the precedent set by the USWNT after their international successes. The USWNT has been invited to the White House multiple times, notably after winning the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup during President Obama’s term. However, the team famously declined an invitation from President Donald Trump after their 2019 World Cup triumph. Rapinoe, a forward with the USWNT at the time, publicly declined to visit the White House during Trump’s presidency, but was later invited by President Biden in 2021 for Equal Pay Day alongside Gotham FC star Midge Purce.
President Biden, who has expressed support for gender equity in sports, will honor Gotham’s championship journey.
Gotham’s White House visit not only celebrates their on-field success but also marks a step forward in the broader recognition of women’s sports, echoing the sentiment shared by other women’s teams like South Carolina’s basketball team, whose coach Dawn Staley highlighted the importance of unity, diversity and inclusiveness during their own White House visit.
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