USL Sacramento Republic FC

Republic FC Launch "#WatchMe" Community Initiative to Empower Local Female Athletes & Coaches

June 21, 2019 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sacramento Republic FC News Release


SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento Republic FC has launched "#WatchMe," a community initiative to empower women and girls to join, lead and benefit from actively participating in sports. To kick off the initiative, Republic FC will host an all-girls 4v4 soccer tournament on Saturday, June 29, at Papa Murphy's Park in Cal Expo.

"At the core of our mission is to use the power of sport to impact communities and drive positive change," said Ben Gumpert, Republic FC President & COO. "We're proud to launch #WatchMe to provide more opportunities for girls and women in our community to have access to sports, to training, to leaders and to each other. It is an underserved need in Sacramento and we are going to work to change that."

"Getting girls in the game and keeping them playing is paramount to our growth as a community," said Scott Moak, Republic FC VP of Community Investment. "#WatchMe is going to create opportunities for girls to play, learn and belong to something bigger, and we couldn't be more excited."

"This initiative resonates with me, not just because I'm a mother and the only woman on the City Council, but because I believe this is the right thing to do," said Mayor Pro Tem Angelique Ashby. "I couldn't be more thrilled to partner with Republic FC to be an ambassador of the #WatchMe program and to help champion the cause of further empowering women and girls."

According to a recent report by the Women's Sport Foundation, girls drop out of playing sports by age 14 at a rate 1.5x faster than boys because they do not have a sense that they belong and don't see a future in sports. Similar data from another survey that found that over half of all girls will have quit sports by age 17.

Decreased participation in sports can play a significant role in preventing girls from achieving their potential. A recent study conducted by the EY Women Athletes Business Network and ESPNW showed that 94% of women executives in the C-suite played a sport growing up.

Republic FC's "#WatchMe" initiative is composed of three parts-Train, Lead and Inspire-with each focusing on different areas of growth to combat the trend of decreased female participation in sports and empower female athletes of all ages.

"Watch Me: Train" will help develop stronger female players on and off the field through an ongoing series of all-girls soccer camps and clinics. Programming will include full-day skills and drills sessions, conditioning games, tournaments and guest speakers.

"Watch Me: Lead" will focus on developing more female role models in youth sports. Republic FC will offer educational courses throughout the year for women who are interested in becoming a coach or taking their coaching to the next level via U.S. Soccer coaching certification.

"Watch Me: Inspire" will provide a platform to inspire the next generation of female leaders. The program will include a speakers bureau and symposium, among other #WatchMe initiatives to help young women and girls harness their power to lead.

More information on Republic FC's #WatchMe initiative is available at SacRepublicFC.com/watchme.

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