Heidi Smith, author of the book “Play On: From Adversity to Advantage Through 140 Years of Women’s Soccer” joins Sarah for the first installment of a brand new Good Game series called “Built By Women: The Story of Soccer in the U.S.” Heidi and Sarah discuss the history of women’s soccer, the decades-long bans that kept women around the world out of the game, and how the growth and success of women’s soccer in the U.S. created global change. 

“Built By Women: The Story of Soccer in the U.S.” was inspired by the FIFA Men’s World Cup — ‘cause you know Big Citrus was watching and thinking about the *women’s* national team (the one with FOUR stars on their jersey!). Unlike pretty much any other country in the world, the United States fell in love with footie primarily through women – through the success of the ‘96 Olympic gold medalists, the ‘99ers, and all of our truly global superstar women players. So with next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in two years, we thought it was a good time to trace the roots of the beautiful game here in the United States. Stay tuned for more episodes in the series over the coming weeks!


Buy Heidi’s book here


You can now WATCH Sarah’s interviews! Subscribe to @iHeartWomensSports on YouTube and check out the Good Game playlist here


Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com 


Follow Sarah on social! Bluesky: @sarahspain.com Instagram: @Spain2323


Follow producer Alex Azzi! Bluesky: @byalexazzi.bsky.social Instagram: @AzziArtwork 


Follow producer Bianca Hillier! Bluesky: @biancahillier.bsky.social

Heidi Smith, author of the book &ldquo;Play On: From Adversity to Advantage Through 140 Years of Women&rsquo;s Soccer&rdquo; joins Sarah for the first installment of a brand new Good Game series called &ldquo;Built By Women: The Story of Soccer in the U.S.&rdquo; Heidi and Sarah discuss the history of women&rsquo;s soccer, the decades-long bans that kept women around the world out of the game, and how the growth and success of women&rsquo;s soccer in the U.S. created global change.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Built By Women: The Story of Soccer in the U.S.&rdquo; was inspired by the FIFA Men&rsquo;s World Cup &mdash; &lsquo;cause you know Big Citrus was watching and thinking about the *women&rsquo;s* national team (the one with FOUR stars on their jersey!). Unlike pretty much any other country in the world, the United States fell in love with footie primarily through women &ndash; through the success of the &lsquo;96 Olympic gold medalists, the &lsquo;99ers, and all of our truly global superstar women players. So with next summer&rsquo;s FIFA Women&rsquo;s World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in two years, we thought it was a good time to trace the roots of the beautiful game here in the United States. Stay tuned for more episodes in the series over the coming weeks!
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Buy Heidi&rsquo;s book <a href="https://www.strandbooks.com/play-on-from-adversity-to-advantage-through-140-years-of-women-s-soccer-9798218740856.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.strandbooks.com/play-on-from-adversity-to-advantage-through-140-years-of-women-s-soccer-9798218740856.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1784771982497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0rOSAFhqBuf6391hhdHW0d">here</a>
</li>
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You can now WATCH Sarah&rsquo;s interviews! Subscribe to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@iHeartWomensSports" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/@iHeartWomensSports&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1784771982497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3JrDNo2m8RqZcMdKURwoxr">@iHeartWomensSports</a> on YouTube and check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4OH9pWO2GjqQmx_dTNOqMES7gaB3CUEf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list%3DPL4OH9pWO2GjqQmx_dTNOqMES7gaB3CUEf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1784771982497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mR6tB3uZG3mgeTyi1DUpW">Good Game playlist here</a>
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at <a href="mailto:goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com">goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com</a>&nbsp;
</li>
<li dir="ltr">
Follow Sarah on social! Bluesky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/sarahspain.com" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bsky.app/profile/sarahspain.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1784771982497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1zbFdSUfzt4lprR2wrrmK0">@sarahspain.com</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/spain2323" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.instagram.com/spain2323&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1784771982497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3r319yNruTIz8EbthRdAlS">@Spain2323</a>
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Follow producer Alex Azzi! Bluesky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/byalexazzi.bsky.social" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bsky.app/profile/byalexazzi.bsky.social&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1784771982497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2K2Ueah2adA9-EPai1GmPd">@byalexazzi.bsky.social</a> Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/azziartwork/?hl=en" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.instagram.com/azziartwork/?hl%3Den&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1784771982497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw08LJzA--N4fOGAU_g2Uaak">@AzziArtwork</a>&nbsp;
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Follow producer Bianca Hillier! Bluesky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/biancahillier.bsky.social" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://bsky.app/profile/biancahillier.bsky.social&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1784771982497000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1_gIKF2lwyv8S7mn5YjF97">@biancahillier.bsky.social</a>
</li>
</ul>

Good Game is your one-stop shop for the biggest stories in women’s sports. Every day, host Sarah Spain gives you the stories, stakes, stars and stats to keep up with your favorite women’s teams, leagues and athletes. Through thoughtful insight, witty banter, and an all around good time, Sarah and friends break down the latest news, talk about the games you can’t miss, and debate the issues of the day. Don’t miss interviews with the people of the moment, whether they be athletes, coaches, reporters, or celebrity fans. 

Good Game is your one-stop shop for the biggest stories in women’s sports. Every day, host Sarah Spain gives you the stories, stakes, stars and stats to keep up with your favorite women’s teams, leagues and athletes. Through thoughtful insight, witty banter, and an all around good time, Sarah and friends break down the latest news, talk about the games you can’t miss, and debate the issues of the day. Don’t miss interviews with the people of the moment, whether they be athletes, coaches, reporters, or celebrity fans.

Good Game with Sarah Spain

Heidi Smith, author of the book “Play On: From Adversity to Advantage Through 140 Years of Women’s Soccer” joins Sarah for the first installment of a brand new Good Game series called “Built By Women: The Story of Soccer in the U.S.” Heidi and Sarah discuss the history of women’s soccer, the decades-long bans that kept women around the world out of the game, and how the growth and success of women’s soccer in the U.S. created global change.   “Built By Women: The Story of Soccer in the U.S.” was inspired by the FIFA Men’s World Cup — ‘cause you know Big Citrus was watching and thinking about the *women’s* national team (the one with FOUR stars on their jersey!). Unlike pretty much any other country in the world, the United States fell in love with footie primarily through women – through the success of the ‘96 Olympic gold medalists, the ‘99ers, and all of our truly global superstar women players. So with next summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in two years, we thought it was a good time to trace the roots of the beautiful game here in the United States. Stay tuned for more episodes in the series over the coming weeks!

 Built By Women: The Story of Soccer in the U.S. with Heidi Smith 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/bbd1063d-a924-4678-9c99-b48f002196e6/transcript