Women's football has never been afraid to raise social issues. One example is the Angel City football club, based in Los Angeles, which decided to support protesters who oppose raids on immigrants. Before their home game, the players and coaching staff wore T-shirts with the words "Immigrant City Football Club" printed on them. They wanted to draw attention to the fact that without immigrants, football would not be played.
The city of Los Angeles in California was swept by large protests in June. Participants criticized US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on immigrants.
The Angel City women's soccer team also decided to speak out on the situation.
Before their home game on June 16 against North Carolina Courage, they printed 10,000 T-shirts with the words "Immigrant City Football Club" on the front and "Los Angeles is for everyone" on the back in English and Spanish.
Fans received the T-shirts at the stadium entrance, the players wore them during the pre-match line-up, and the coaching staff, including the head coach, also wore them.
"Football, the game we all love, is here thanks to immigrants," commented Angel City captain and defender Ali Riley. She herself comes from a family with immigrant roots. Her mother's parents came to the US from China, while her paternal grandparents came from New Zealand. Her parents are the first generation of native Americans in the family.
Angel City wanted to use the T-shirt initiative not only to show solidarity with the protesters, but also to highlight the diversity of the city and the club itself. "Our team is made up of immigrants. Our staff is made up of immigrants. It just very clearly reflects who and what we are as an organization," said club social media coordinator Yaoziuatl Martinez.
According to him, the inscription Immigrant City refers not only to the composition of Los Angeles itself, but also to Angel City as the club that represents the city.
Before the match, singer Becky G, who, along with former tennis player Serena Williams and actress Natalie Portman, is one of the club's main investors, also read a statement.
"This city is made up by immigrants. Without them, this city would not exist, nor would this club. Soccer without immigrants does not exist," the singer told the audience.
This is not the first time that female football players have spoken out on political and social issues. While Arsenal players recently spoke out about destigmatizing menstruation and the problems of endometriosis, players on the US national team have long criticized wage inequality in sports.
