The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) gave a shoutout to women’s empowerment this weekend by wearing jerseys with the names of women who inspire them, from famous musicians to Nobel Prize winners.
Players on the team sported the special jerseys at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium during their game against England for the SheBelieves Cup tournament.
SheBelieves is a “movement that originated in 2015 in the lead up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup. It was created with the goal of encouraging the female leaders of tomorrow to chase their dreams,” according to a press release from USWNT.
Each player repped a different name on the back of their jersey because that individual player considered that specific woman to be their inspiration.
“She’s just her and doesn’t care being normal and fitting in and being ordinary,” goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris said in a statement about her pick, Cardi B. “I can appreciate that. She owns her story, all of her story. I think a lot of us can learn something from that.”
“She’s confident and is just a good role model for women in general because she represents something that is so much bigger than herself,” forward Mallory Pugh, who chose Beyoncé, said.
Jessica McDonald, a forward, described her pick ― Maya Angelou ― as an “amazing human being.”
“I love her poetry, but I think it’s more so her words and how she uses them that captured my attention,” she said. “Reading her quotes and her poetry has inspired me in a lot of ways, especially on a bad day.”
Others that were featured on the jerseys include Abby Wambach, Briana Scurry, Heather O’Reilly, Mia Hamm, Serena Williams, Sally Ride, Jennifer Lawrence, Carrie Underwood, J.K. Rowling, Robin Roberts, Tina Fey, Mother Teresa and more.