This Forever® stamp celebrates women’s 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 women’s soccer.

For decades, women’s 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. women’s national team played its first official matches in Italy. In 1991, the U.S. women’s national soccer team competed in the first official FIFA Women’s World Cup, held in China, and won the championship.

Despite these successes, women’s soccer remained relatively unknown. It didn’t truly enter the international arena and gain a following until the 1996 Summer Olympics when women’s 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. women’s national soccer team jersey and dominated around the world. In 2019, the U.S. made history as the only team to win four FIFA Women’s World Cup titles.

Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with an original illustration by Noah MacMillan (1988–2022).

The Women’s Soccer stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp. This Forever stamp is always equal to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.

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