FOX Sports Spotlights Common Goal Movement During FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™
Collaboration Highlights U.S. Women’s National Team Player Support of Common Goal USA’s New Mental Health Initiative with Content Series Produced by FOX Sports Featuring Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith and Sofia Huerta
FOX Sports Continues its Commitment to Pledge a Percentage of its FIFA Women’s World Cup™ Coverage to Sharing the Story of Soccer for Social Impact
LOS ANGELES – FOX Sports, America’s English-language home for the FIFA World Cup™ through 2026, continues its historic collaboration with nonprofit movement Common Goal during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.
During the largest FIFA Women’s World Cup™ tournament in history taking place July 20 – August 20, FOX Sports, and its parent company Fox Corporation, are teaming up to support the launch of Common Goal USA’s new mental health initiative. United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) defender Naomi Girma is leading the innovative project with the support of USWNT forward Sophia Smith and USWNT defender Sofia Huerta through a three-part feature series and multiple PSAs produced by FOX Sports.
“FOX Sports is proud to harness our wide array of multi-platform assets to propel the Common Goal movement forward during our coverage of the Women’s World Cup™,” said Terri Hines, Executive Vice President, Communications, FOX Sports. “We continue to be inspired by the work they are doing to ensure there are no boundaries preventing anyone from playing the beautiful game and we look forward to focusing our storytelling around this important mental health initiative with incredible players and role models from the US Women’s National Team.”
The mental health content series airing across FOX Sports’ on-air, online and social media platforms throughout the tournament contains exclusive interviews with Girma, Smith and Huerta documenting the importance of mental health in professional soccer, pairing their stories with young female athletes across the United States who are navigating their own mental health journeys. The series amplifies the work of Common Goal USA-based community organizations supporting young athletes in underserved communities and further highlights the importance of connecting the professional and the grassroots side of soccer.
FOX Sports is dedicated to sharing the story of soccer for social impact in the United States and is the first and only national FIFA World Cup™ broadcaster to take Common Goal’s 1% pledge, targeting 1% of its World Cup coverage through 2026 to telling the story of soccer for good cross-platform. In the first year of the collaboration during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, FOX Sports nearly doubled its coverage commitment.
“It’s so powerful to see FOX Sports take the 1% pledge alongside so many of us athletes this World Cup,” said Naomi Girma, USWNT defender. “We hope this initiative sets a precedent across soccer that prioritizing mental well-being at all levels in the game is equally as important as maintaining one’s physical health.”
Leading up to this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, FOX Sports introduced Common Goal USA’s new mental health initiative in the June 4 episode of its award-winning pro-social series VOICES which highlights diverse sports stories impacting our communities and culture. On Tuesday, June 13, FOX Sports and Common Goal USA hosted an exciting soccer-themed festival for young girls in New York City which emphasized the importance of mental wellness in tandem with physical fitness, with more events planned in the next three years. Common Goal Girls Soccer Festival New York was held at Socceroof in Long Island City and members of FOX Sports’ preeminent roster of world-class broadcasters, including lead play-by-play announcer JP Dellacamera, lead studio analyst Alexi Lalas, studio analyst Carli Lloyd, international analyst Karina LeBlanc and reporter Jenny Taft participated in the activities.
“During such a pivotal year for women’s sports, we are excited to partner with FOX Sports and players from the USWNT to ensure that mental health is at the forefront this tournament,” said Lilli Barrett-O’Keefe, Executive Director of Common Goal USA. “Historically, conversations around mental wellbeing have been either ignored or stigmatized in grassroots and professional soccer. Together with FOX Sports, we’re making it our goal to change that.”
Common Goal is a non-profit organization rooted in the belief that the world’s most popular sport is one of the few cultural forces strong enough to help shift society towards a more sustainable and equitable future for all. The global movement unites the global soccer community to act and collaborate towards the wellbeing of our people and planet through a simple yet impactful mechanism: players, managers, clubs, brands, media outlets and other soccer industry stakeholders pledge a minimum of 1% of earnings, sales and other resources to initiatives using soccer to drive progress towards sustainable social change.
The relationship between Common Goal and FOX Sports dates back to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, when FOX Sports supported and featured Play Proud, Common Goal’s initiative to make soccer a safe and inclusive space for the LGBTQ+ community, throughout its tournament coverage. Furthering FOX Sports’ commitment to creating and advancing fighting chances for all to play and access sports, the company teams with Common Goal to drive efforts to make soccer accessible, diverse and inclusive for all youth athletes nationwide and shift the narrative about the impact the sport can have to change lives.
From Thursday, July 20, through Sunday, Aug. 20, FOX Sports will present all 64 matches of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ live across FOX (29) and FS1 (35) with every match live streaming on the FOX Sports App.
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