This new Forever stamp celebrates womens soccer in the United States. From youth leagues to the elite world champion U.S. national team, millions of girls and women throughout the country participate in the fast-paced, competitive sport of soccer.
The stamp artwork depicts a female soccer player in action, walloping a ball with a side volley. The somewhat grainy rendering lends a timeless quality to the design, evoking not just a single all-star athlete or era but the entire legacy of womens soccer.
For decades, womens athletic programs were all but invisible on college and university campuses, receiving very little of the funding and none of the recognition of their male counterparts. In 1972, Congress amended federal education law by adding Title IX, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex from any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
By 1985, female soccer players were finally able to compete on an international level. That year the U.S. womens national team played its first official matches in Italy. In 1991, the U.S. womens national soccer team competed in the first official FIFA Womens World Cup, held in China, and won the championship.
Despite these successes, womens soccer remained relatively unknown. It didnt truly enter the international arena and gain a following until the 1996 Summer Olympics when womens soccer was included as a sport for the first time. The U.S. beat out China for the gold medal.
Since then, dozens of elite female athletes have donned the U.S. womens national soccer team jersey and dominated around the world. In 2019, the U.S. made history as the only team to win four FIFA Womens World Cup titles.
Art director Antonio Alcal designed the stamp with an original illustration by Noah MacMillan (1988 C2022).
