We Celebrated One Year of Keep Her in the Game, Presented by Dove
NWSL NJ/NY Gotham FC

We Celebrated One Year of Keep Her in the Game, Presented by Dove

Published on October 22, 2025 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
NJ/NY Gotham FC News Release


One year. 1,783 girls reached. And we're just getting started.

It's been just over one year since we launched Keep Her in the Game, presented by Dove. Together we've reached more than 1,783 girls, far surpassing our original goal of 1,000. We trained 97 coaches across five sessions this past year, as well as 226 parents and caregivers through two Raising Resilient Athletes Workshops, led by our program partner Girls Leadership. KHITG has created spaces where the trusted adults in girls' lives can continue to learn how to support their youth, empowering coaches and parents with research-backed training to help girls and gender expansive youth develop leadership skills, find their voices, and stay committed to soccer.

Many of you joined us to celebrate the one year milestone at our Aug. 9 Keep Her in the Game match, presented by Dove, at Sports Illustrated Stadium, and on Aug. 17, we honored the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Keep Her in the Game's founding philanthropic partner. We're so grateful for their support from the get-go and as we head into year two of the program. Now we're reflecting on all of the special moments - and showing why your support for this program means so much.

A highlight in August was - releasing a first-of-its kind book in collaboration with Rebel Girls and Dove. Changing the Game: A Playbook for Champions in Training - featured:

We launched the book with great features in USA TODAY, the Sports Business Journal and the GIST - and that night at a live recording of Sam Mewis' The Women's Game podcast - with Gotham stars Rose Lavelle, Jess Carter, Emily Sonnett and Ann-Katrin Berger and the KHITG representatives featured in the book.

To see our KHITG girls recognized in such a powerful way was a celebration of their resilience, strength - and the stories that often go unheard. We celebrated their successes on Aug. 9 where the representatives took to the pitch and took part in the t-shirt toss. Go and download your copy of the book now!

Throughout the year, we deepened our partnership with Dove, whose unwavering commitment to keeping girls confident and engaged in sport continues to fuel this work. Fans of Confidence: A Dove x Gotham FC Film demonstrates this partnership, when two KHITG teams (Success Academy and Harrison FC) took to the field to play, unaware that our Gotham players would be showing up on the sidelines to cheer them on. In an empowering role reversal, the girls stepped into the spotlight, showcasing a moving reminder of the possibilities that unfold when we elevate girls and give them the room to lead.

This surprise moment was featured in the video, and the film was later introduced by Dove partner Kylie Kelce during the Aug. 9 pregame ceremony. The stadium watched on as 500 KHITG girls and coaches unveiled a banner carrying a call to action, inviting our community to join us in ensuring girls stay in the game. The Success Academy and Harrison FC girls loved seeing their teams on the jumbotron.

Gotham's ceremonial torch lighting took place just before kickoff, with KHITG participants represented as our torch bearers. Each girl and coach passed the torch with pride, eventually lighting it with the help of Grammy Award-winning singer Ciara, symbolizing the collective power and potential of girls in sport.

We were also delighted to honor our incredible coaches from the spring KHITG cohort on the field that August day. This was our moment to show our gratitude for their tireless work behind the scenes, building trust, creating safe spaces - and championing every girl they coach - they are truly the heart of this program. A massive thank you to all of our KHITG coaches; this program would not be possible without your support!

Perhaps one of the most tangible reflections of our community's impact: everyone who attended the Aug. 9 game helped raise more than $13,860 for South Bronx United. This funding will go directly to girls' programming at South Bronx United, a founding program partner of KHITG furthering the mission to keep girls engaged in sport.

To further demonstrate the work of Keep Her in the Game, we released our first Impact Report, capturing the heart and outcomes of our endeavors over the program's inaugural year. If you haven't had a chance yet, we invite you to read it now and see the full scope of what we've accomplished together.

In case you missed it! We popped up at Walmart with Dove and some Gotham players. The event featured a Dove activation complete with mini soccer clinics led by Keep Her in the Game coaches outside the Bayonne Walmart Supercenter! Families and kids arriving for their weekly grocery shopping were invited to participate in the clinics as well as a spin-wheel game for the opportunity to win prizes and tickets to Dove's title match on Aug. 9.

Next up with Keep Her in the Game

Looking ahead, we've already welcomed our next KHITG cohort - our biggest yet. For the first time, the program will run from fall through spring, giving coaches more time and space to integrate the curriculum into their teams' practices and games. This expansion also allows for deeper alignment with Dove's Body Confident Sport program, providing even more tools to build self-esteem through sport.

Coaches of U11-U14 girls are taking part in this next cohort. They've attended one of five dedicated training sessions led by Girls Leadership, and they're now equipped with the KHITG curriculum, featuring the new Coaches' Conversation Playbook, authored by Dr. Jia L. Nettles, the National Sports Program Director at Girls Leadership. This resource has been designed to help coaches navigate the harder conversations, like when a girl is thinking about quitting. How we show up for girls in these pivotal moments can make all the difference.

On Oct. 8, we hosted a third parent workshop online. Raising Resilient Athletes - led by Beina Toler-Farmer, National Family Program Director at Girls Leadership - is an opportunity to engage the adults in these girls' lives and equip them with the tools to support confidence-building from the sidelines.

Thank you, Gotham FC family, for being part of this journey, showing up and helping us create a future where every girl feels supported to see herself in the game - and has the opportunity to stay in the game.

One year down, many more to go!

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from October 22, 2025


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