The Origins and Spatial Diffusion of Female Professional Soccer Players in the United States, 1991-2015: Geographical and Sociocultural Perspectives

In the latter half of the twentieth century and especially in the last twenty-five years, soccer has grown exponentially in the United States. In particular, the women's game has exploded with interest all around the country. Studies on the origins of professional athletes from a geographic perspective are relatively isolated and demonstrate a tendency to favor males in American professional sports. This study contributes to filling this identified gender gap in geographic sports studies. Results reveal that the origins of most female professional soccer players can be connected to suburbanized middle- to upper-middle-class communities close to major cities, mainly in coastal regions. From a per capita perspective, the results also show that states in the West produce more players than states in the East. Sociocultural perspectives explain these patterns, supporting a common assumption that most female professional soccer players in the United States are white and come from areas of relative affluence. In addition, the findings from this study show a distinct contrast between the origins of professional male athletes and female soccer players.