From June 7 to July 7 2019, 24 teams from around the world will gather in France for the FIFA Women's World Cup. This official guide provides an insightful, comprehensive preview to get you excited for women's soccer's biggest and greatest tournament. Written by former professional player Jen O'Neill, features include a review of the qualifying campaign, an in-depth analysis of all the participating teams and their star players, a retrospective look at the first seven Women's World Cups, and much more.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Lucid and wrenching...Forward puts [Wambach's] achievement in context with painful and beautiful candor." —NPR "Forward is the powerful story of an athlete who has inspired girls all over the world to believe in themselves." —Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, New York Times Bestselling author of Lean In “This is the best memoir I’ve read by an athlete since Andre Agassi’s Open.” —Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take Abby Wambach has always pushed the limits of what is possible. At age seven she was put on the boys’ soccer team. At age thirty-five she would become the highest goal scorer—male or female—in the history of soccer, capturing the nation’s heart with her team’s 2015 World Cup Championship. Called an inspiration and “badass” by President Obama, Abby has become a fierce advocate for women’s rights and equal opportunity, pushing to translate the success of her team to the real world. As she reveals in this searching memoir, Abby’s professional success often masked her inner struggle to reconcile the various parts of herself: ferocious competitor, daughter, leader, wife. With stunning candor, Abby shares her inspiring and often brutal journey from girl in Rochester, New York, to world-class athlete. Far more than a sports memoir, Forward is gripping tale of resilience and redemption—and a reminder that heroism is, above all, about embracing life’s challenges with fearlessness and heart.

The Official History of the FIFA World Cup Book is an authoritative and comprehensive review of the 20 FIFA World Cups to have taken place since the inaugural tournament in 1930. Packed with stunning photography, exclusive interviews of the biggest stars of each edition, unique official documents and statistics, it is a must read for any football fan around the world. No other event in the sporting world can rival the glamour, impact, fervent following and universal appeal of the FIFA World Cup. This unique book tells the stories behind the scenes, as well as analyzing the most famous incidents. It features the biggest stars and many previously unknown ones too, all with a unique worldwide point of view.

With a foreword by England legend Kelly Smith, the country's all-time record goalscorer and a player widely considered one of the best to have played the game. The exciting story of one of the fastest growing sports in the world, played by over 30 million girls and women. Over 25 million people tuned in for the Americans' 2015 Women's World Cup final victory - the most-watched football match in United States history. The Making of the Women's World Cup details the most incredible tales from previous Women's World Cups, including: Carli Lloyd's 13-minute hat trick and the worldwide movement set off by 2015 How Japan made their country smile for the first time since the devastating tsunami The USA's World Cup triumph on home soil in 1999 Germany's back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2007 Marta's magic: The birth of a Brazilian icon How Kelly Smith announced her arrival with the kiss of a boot The beginnings of Australia's golden generation The 122nd-minute USA equalizer against Brazil: the quarterfinal that changed everything The dawn of the Lionesses: England joins world elite through tears of joy and despair

This book offers a critical examination of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, being held in Australia and New Zealand. Drawing on perspectives from sociology, history, political science and management, it sheds new light on the development of women’s soccer and on women’s sport more broadly. The book examines the politics of the build-up to the tournament, including the bidding process, as well as how the tournament has been represented in the media, the governance structures of the tournament itself, and policy proposals designed to leave an enduring legacy for women and girls in sport. The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is the first Women’s World Cup to be held in the Southern Hemisphere and the first to be held with an expanded 32-team format. This book shows why the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup represents a unique opportunity to enhance our understanding of women’s football, gender-oriented sport development initiatives and strategies, national sport policy and programming, and the management of international sporting events. This book is fascinating reading for any student, researcher or practitioner with an interest in sport development, sport management, sport policy, sport sociology, event management, gender studies, political science, or the relationship between sport and wider society.

An instant New York Times bestseller! “Rapinoe's 'signature pose' from the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup is synonymous to the feeling we got when finishing this book: heart full, arms wide and ready to take up space in this world.”—USA Today Megan Rapinoe, Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women's World Cup champion, reveals for the first time her life both on and off the field. Guided by her personal journey into social justice, brimming with humor, humanity, and joy, she urges all of us to ask ourselves, What will you do with your one life? Only four years old when she kicked her first soccer ball, Megan Rapinoe developed a love – and clear talent – for the game at a young age. But it was her parents who taught her that winning was much less important than how she lived her life. From childhood on, Rapinoe always did what she could to stand up for what was right—even if it meant going up against people who disagreed. In One Life, Megan Rapinoe invites readers on a remarkable journey, looking back on both her victories and her failures, and pulls back the curtain on events we know only from the headlines. After the 2011 World Cup, discouraged by how few athletes were open about their sexuality, Rapinoe decided to come out publicly as gay and use her platform to advocate for marriage equality. Recognizing the power she had to bring attention to critical issues, in 2016 she took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick to protest racial injustice and police brutality—the first high-profile white athlete to do so. The backlash was immediate, but it couldn’t compare to the overwhelming support. Rapinoe became a force of change. Here for the first time, Rapinoe reflects upon some of the most pivotal moments in her life and career – from her realization in college that she was gay, through the disputes with soccer coaches and officials over her decision to kneel, to the first time she met her now-fiancé WNBA champion Sue Bird, and up through suing the US Soccer Federation over gender discrimination and equal pay. Throughout, Rapinoe makes clear the obligation we all have to speak up, and the impact each of us can have on our communities. Deeply personal and inspiring, One Life reveals that real, concrete change lies within all of us, and asks: If we all have the same resource—this one precious life, made up of the decisions we make every day—what are you going to do? "One Life makes it clear that Rapinoe’s greatest accomplishments may ultimately come away from the soccer pitch. She’s a new kind of American hero."—San Francisco Chronicle