Why Keeping Girls in Sports Matters Far Beyond Producing Elite Athletes
The value of girls’ soccer cannot be measured only by how many players eventually reach college, the NWSL or the USWNT.
New research suggests participation itself may have lasting importance.
A study released by e.l.f. Beauty and Parity surveyed 9,056 working-age women, 328 professional women athletes and 114 board members across four countries, including the United States.
Among women who played sports for at least three years while growing up, researchers found they were nearly 50 percent more likely to hold workplace leadership roles than women with little or no sports participation.
They were also 37 percent more likely to aspire to senior leadership and nearly 25 percent more likely to have negotiated their salary.
The researchers emphasize that these findings show correlation rather than proving sports participation directly caused the outcomes.
That qualification matters.
So does the larger question the data raises for soccer.
What happens when girls are given opportunities not simply to start playing, but to remain in the game?
Female outdoor soccer participation in the United States increased 66 percent between 2018 and 2025, according to SFIA research.
Keeping that growth going will require more than elite development pathways.
It requires more than a pathway to the professional game.
It requires affordable programs, welcoming environments, coaches, facilities and meaningful places for girls with different ability levels and ambitions.
Most will never become professional soccer players.
But they can still carry lessons learned through the sport—teamwork, communication, resilience, responsibility and competitive confidence—into the rest of their lives.
That makes girls’ soccer development about much more than producing the next generation of stars.
It is also about giving the next generation a place to grow.
