This is amazing; we wanted to let everyone know that one of our Blues players, Samantha Williams from the 2001 Baker team, represents KidsKickBack a foundation she formed that collects unwanted soccer cleats and athletic shoes to donate to kids in need around the world. Please feel free to contact Samantha if you have donations or would like to get involved. For more information about her foundation please visit kidskickback.org

Jamie Spencer16 Apr 2019

England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley will be going to the seventh major international tournament of her career this summer when the Lionesses head to the Women's World Cup in France. After three European Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games, it will be her third World Cup. What's more, it will be her third World Cup as England's number one if she can hold off stiff competition from Chelsea stopper Carly Telford in the final few weeks before it all begins.

Although a handful of other players have more caps, none have been part of the England setup for as long as Bardsley, who made her senior debut as far back in 2005. She is also one of only five players aged 30 or older expected to be on the plane. If England are to fulfill their obvious potential and win the World Cup this year, her vast experience will be key.

A commanding 5'11, Bardsley stands out on the pitch. Her accent is also a giveaway that her journey to this point has been rather different to those of her international colleagues. The Manchester City star was born and raised in California and was captivated by 'soccer' from an early age after finding it more exciting than other sports on offer, like softball. She was around five or six years of age at that time but her father, who had grown up in England at a time when women's football was actually still banned by the FA, was surprised.

"I remember my dad saying to me one day 'I didn't think girls play football'," Bardsley told iNews last September as she recalled her early years. "Essentially [football] changed my life."

Women's soccer was exploding in the United States during Bardsley's formative years. In 1991, a USWNT squad featuring Michelle Akers, as well as a young core of emerging superstars who would soon become household names, won the inaugural World Cup in China.

When Bardsley was 14, the World Cup was played in the United States for the first time. Beating China in the final after a penalty shootout, the '99ers' captured the imagination of the American public and inspired a generation. As one television commercial for Gatorade proved, star Mia Hamm was even on a level with Michael Jordan as far as advertisers were concerned.

"I grew up watching Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, watching them achieve," Bardsley explained in an interview with the Daily Telegraph shortly before Euro 2017. "Watching that '99 final I remember thinking, 'Wow, that is something I want to be part of'. When I got the chance with England, to push at those barriers, it's a great challenge, something I'm really passionate about."

Settling as a goalkeeper around the age of 10, Bardsley continued on the path to becoming a professional footballer via the typical American route and attended California State University, Fullerton on a soccer scholarship, studying graphic design. She graduated in 2006 and set about taking the next steps in her career. But it was during her collegiate career that Bardsley also began an international journey, pledging her allegiance not to her native United States, but to England, where her parents had emigrated from.

Bardsley first appeared for England at Under-19 level in 2003, before eventually going on to make her senior bow two years later in the Algarve Cup. But she wouldn't actually make the permanent switch to England until 2013 when she joined Lincoln Ladies.

Bardsley headed to Europe in 2011 to join Linkopings in the highly rated Swedish league, eventually joining Lincoln midway through the 2012/13 WSL season. She then signed with Manchester City at the end of the campaign, one of several England internationals, including Steph Houghton and Jill Scott, who made the move to the ambitious new WSL club.

Internationally, Bardsley spent her first few years with the Lionesses as a back-up to number one Rachel Brown. It was as a number two that she went to her first major tournament (Euro 2009) but by 2011 she had made the gloves her own.

Bardsley was an ever-present at the 2011 World Cup as England bowed out in the quarter finals after a penalty shootout defeat to France. The following year she was chosen as Great Britain number one for the Olympics and was again the starter at Euro 2013.

Bardsley retained her place for the 2015 World Cup as England exceeded all expectations to finish third. Bardsley herself, despite an eye injury forcing her out of the quarter final, was named in the All-Star Team by FIFA's Technical Study Group, one of three goalkeepers in the combined squad alongside living legends Hope Solo and Nadine Angerer.

Having already won the Continental Cup with Manchester City in 2014, Bardsley added further club success in 2016 with a WSL title, before also winning the FA Cup in 2017 to complete the full set of England's three domestic trophies.

For Bardsley, this summer's World Cup could very well be her last tournament with England after 14 years as an international. But if England are to go all the way it would be the perfect way to bow out, replicating the achievements of Hamm, Chastain and others that she watched aged 14 back in 1999, and being part of a fabled team that inspires a brand new generation of its own.

Herzogenaurach, Germany, 15 April 2019 – Sports company PUMA has entered into a long-term agreement with the Spanish football league, LaLiga, to become the league’s Official Technical Partner. Starting from the 2019/20 season, PUMA will produce the official match ball for all games in Spain’s top-flight leagues; LaLiga Santander and La Liga 1|2|3.

With a total audience of 2.7 billion viewers in 183 countries annually and more than 80 million followers on social media, LaLiga is one of the world’s leading sport leagues. This sponsorship will significantly expand PUMA’s on pitch visibility and strengthen its position as a leading global football brand.

Both companies share a long history but also a young spirit and a vision for growth that will be boosted by this alliance.

PUMA is adding LaLiga to a strong roster of PUMA football players, including some of the best players in LaLiga: Luis Suárez, Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak, Samuel Umtiti, Santi Cazorla, Marc Bartra, and Giovani Lo Celso. The start of the 2019/20 La Liga season will also see the addition of two new clubs: Girona FC and Valencia CF.

PUMA's values of being brave, confident, determined and joyful, fit perfectly with those of LaLiga: Teamwork, Overcoming, Equality, Respect and Tolerance, Fair Play and Authenticity. The two companies share an international vision, passion for having the best product and transforming society through the universal values of sport.

“We are extremely proud to have partnered with one of, if not, the best football league in the world,” said Johan Adamsson, PUMA’s Director of Sports Marketing. “The ball is the most essential element in football, this sponsorship is the epitome of performance. La Liga has some of the world’s best teams and players and this is another step in our efforts to achieve ‘No Football without PUMA and it ensures an even stronger global reach for our brand.”

RICHMOND, VA (September 11, 2018) – Southern California Blues Soccer Club (“So Cal Blues”) is a historic youth soccer club serving elite female players in the Laguna Hills area. Founded through a passion to provide more opportunity to players and to further develop the youth game.

 

The So Cal Blues ECNL U17 and ECNL U18/U19 teams begin the ECNL Season as the reigning National Champions in each age group. Both teams have found enormous success on the field over the past several years, but these amazing young women have a bigger story to tell off the field.

Over the past three years, these two teams have worked together to drive each other to be the best. Under the tutelage of head coach Greg Baker, this group of players has truly invested in their mission of being positive influences and great at their craft. It is their competitiveness that drives them to excel on the pitch, in the classroom and around their communities. Weekly training sessions and two annual retreats have bonded this special group of young athletes, strengthening the group and the impact they have on others.

“The majority of these kids were getting straight A’s and beating the boys at recess back when I was first introduced to this group. I gravitated towards them because I saw the similarities among them, and the potential of greatness,” So Cal Blues Coach Greg Baker said about the Amazing Young Women on his teams. “I would contribute their success to three components. First, they are ultra-competitive in everything that they do. Second, they work really well together, due in part to their commitment to each other. Lastly, they volunteer and contribute to the community with one another. They have forged a unique bond where they work in pairs, small groups or the entire team to give back, represent their school, and create a new standard in anything that they do.”

While the players typically make the attempt to volunteer in the community together, each player is also extremely active in their respective school and community. Their individual efforts off the field mirror the effort and success proven on the field. The So Cal Blues players are heavily involved in student government, tutoring and other campus activities. In addition, players volunteer in their communities through feeding those in need, wrapping gifts over the holidays, working with youth with special needs, and mentoring children. Lexi Wright has traveled to Mexico for community service while Samantha Williams has created her own foundation to give back, called Kids Kick Back.

The entire team spends an enormous amount of time together, even with the distance between all of them. Outside of practices and games, they go on two retreats a year to spend time with one another and forge the ‘family’ bond. Sometimes this occurs in conjunction with a soccer weekend, and sometimes not. But it is something this tight-knit group commits to and values each season.

During each retreat, the environment is relaxed with the objective of coming together and having fun. Some of the activities on the retreat agenda include: bonfires, camping at the beach, fitness sessions, playing board games, watching soccer matches on TV, riding bikes down the beach, and going on local roller coasters.

While the off-field ventures are unique, these two So Cal Blues teams have found a recipe for success together on the pitch. Establishing a culture within the group that gets stronger each season, and one that keeps the competitive spirit alive. Over the past three seasons, the two groups have captured four ECNL National Championships, with some players seeing three straight.

Both teams combined records stands at 144-1-7 over the past three seasons. The ECNL U18/U19 team will be looking to continue their unbeaten streak, as both groups look to find their way to the postseason in hopes of hoisting the ECNL National Championship trophy.

While the two senior So Cal Blues teams may be known for their achievements on the ECNL pitch, they are also Amazing Young Women in the classroom and in the community. Thank you for taking us beyond the lines and sharing some of the secrets on what makes these elite athletes #GAMECHANGERS on the field and in life.