Founding Futbol
Extra Time: Joanna Lohman on Amplifying Impact
Published: 3 April 2025 at 09:00 Europe/London
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Episode notes
While the equal pay fight was driven by players on the US Women's National Team, they represented all women trying to make a living playing soccer at the highest level. The fight extended into the professional ranks where players like Joanna Lohman used their voices to advocate for, initially, just a living wage at the WPS and then NWSL levels.
But, for players like Lohman and so many others, the equal pay fight represented so much more -- it was a proxy for activism and advocacy on so many levels. Women's soccer players in this country became the champions of lifting women and other underrepresented communities up to articulate and ask for their value to be seen.
In this Extra Time episode, Lohman shares here journey through the soccer world. She talks about how hard it was to afford life as a professional soccer player. She shares her perspective on the broader implications of being undervalued -- from how it impacts confidence to social justice issues -- and why the USWNT and soccer community was uniquely suited to help elevate the status of women in America, overall.
Founding Futbol is a year-long exploration of the critical moments that have led to soccer's emerging popularity in America.
Visit our website for more information: FoundingFutbol.com. Email us at kent@foundingfutbol.com
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Host: Kent Malmros
Guest: Joanna Lohman (Former NWSL Player, Keynote Speaker, Entrepreneur)
