9781422275986

Women still played on their own, but since they were banned from professional facilities, they were unable to hold official practices and games. This made it difficult for teams to get organized and play against one another. Eventually the bans were lifted, but it took nearly fifty years for women’s soccer to begin to gain popularity once again. KICKING THINGS BACK UP In the 1960s soccer began to gain some popularity in the United States, where it had long failed to appeal to American audiences. This newfound popularity was especially notable among children and is attributed to the prominence of college soccer and the emergence of the first professional soccer leagues. The National Professional Soccer League (NPSL), an American league launched by a group of wealthy entrepreneurs in 1967, even had a national television contract with broadcaster CBS. The NPSL merged into the North American Soccer League (NASL) the next year, a league that helped the popularity of the sport surge. In 1964, AYSO was developed in California in an effort to bring soccer to young children in a low-pressure, fun environment. This was an alternative to school sports, which often were only for older

children and involved cutting less- skilled children from the team. While AYSO was a great idea, in the beginning it only allowed boys to play soccer. Many girls were interested in playing, but there simply wasn't a place for them to get involved. Girls were so excited about soccer that many of them began asking to play on boys’ teams. Some boys’ teams welcomed girls, but most did not. Girls found themselves interested in soccer with nowhere to play in an organized setting.

Even after AYSO was established in 1964, there was no organized way for girls to practice and play soccer.

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