By Catherine Foy
If one were to take the time to type in “soccer blog” on Google search he or she would find that there is no one soccer blog that encompasses every feature of this universal game. Instead there exists an array of unique blog spots that focus on different aspects of the sport, be it a certain team, nation, player, or even style of play. One blog, though, that particularly caught my attention as a potential resource for soccer fans and fanatics alike, especially in light of the looming 2015 Women’s World Cup, is The Equalizer.
The Equalizer is a soccer blog that exclusively posts news stories and pieces about women’s professional soccer. The stories are not country or team specific, but instead cover a wide range of material and focus on the broader, international sphere of women’s soccer. The blog, which was founded in 2009, now has writers and editors from all over North America and continues to bring readers breaking news and top notch stories about whats going on in the world of women’s soccer today. The homepage of the Equalizer blog is user-friendly and quite easy to navigate. It is broken down into six main categories, each focusing on a different facet of women’s soccer. These six tabs, found towards the top of the blog, are:
- 2015 Women’s World Cup — this section features stories about the upcoming World Cup. Currently, many of the stories that have been posted in this section have been on the topic of the recent legal battle between the female players, FIFA, and the Canadian Soccer Association about whether the fields the World Cup games will be held on should be artificial turf fields or authentic grass fields. Here is a link to one of the most recent articles posted on the site about this particular subject: “Players end legal battle against artificial turf at WC”
- USWNT — this tab of the blog contains articles about the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT), a major superpower in the world of women’s soccer today. They won the first ever women’s World Cup in 1991 and have since won another World Cup and four Olympic Gold medals. However, the landscape of women’s soccer is rapidly changing and the U.S. cannot dominate the realm of women’s soccer for much longer unless they put up a fight. Here is a link to an article from the blog about the U.S. teams response to losing their #1 spot in the world ranking: “With world caught up, USSF boosts development”
Abby Wambach surpassed Mia Hamm in 2013 as the greatest goal scorer in the world with over 160 international career goals. (Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
- Canada — this portion of the site focuses on the Canadian Women’s National Team and it currently features a lot of stories about how both the host country and the host team are preparing for the World Cup this summer. The Canadian National team plans to warm up for the competition this summer by participating in the Four Nations Tournament in China during the month of January, where they will face a host of other national teams. Here is a link to the article about Canada in the Four Nations Tournament: “Canada Readies for World Cup with China tournament”
- International — here, as one can probably guess, are news articles about women’s professional soccer that are not limited to one nation or one team, but instead cover more international stories about women’s professional soccer. As of right now, a large topic of conversation in the international soccer world is the announcement of Kelly Smith’s retirement so close to the 2015 World Cup. Kelly Smith was a member of the English National team and still holds the record as England’s all-time leading goal scorer. Here is a link to an article about Kelly Smith’s retirement: “Kelly Smith retires from England international duty”
- NWSL — this section contains articles about the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), which has only been up and running in the U.S. for about 2 years now after the last women’s league folded in 2012. The NWSL tab of The Equalizer blog also contains sub-sections for each of the individual teams in the league. This tool is very helpful for focusing in on news only about one specific team like the Portland Thorns or the Chicago Red Stars. Here is a link to an article about the trading of Jodie Taylor, the lead scorer of the Washington Spirit, to the Thorns during the 2015 NWSL draft: “Spirit trade leading scorer Taylor to Portland”
Forward Lynn Williams is one of four from the top seven picks to be drafted by the Western New York Flash. (Source: Andy Mead/Icon Sportswire)
- NCAA — this final tab hones in on news articles about female collegiate soccer players. After all, even the greatest of women soccer players began their careers on college soccer fields. Recently, the main topic of conversation in this section of the blog has been about this years NWSL draft of collegiate players. Here is a link to an article about how a few undrafted NCAA players might still have a shot of making it to the National Women’s Soccer League: “Best of the rest: Undrafted players look for chances”