The increasing presence of black players in women’s football adds to the vibrancy and joy of this beautiful game.
On August 8, two days before the U.S. women’s national team won Olympic gold, forwards Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson referred to themselves as the “Triple Espresso” in an interview with NBC Sports.
It was both a public recognition and a participation in what felt like a nationwide effort to give them a nickname that adequately expressed the power of their partnership on the field.
“We’re just going to get this out there and let people get on with it,” Rodman told NBC anchors Hoda Kotbi and Savannah Guthrie as Smith and Swanson held back their laughter.
Before, the dangerously eager coffee order conjured images of fleece-vest-clad tech startup founders, overworked PhD students and lifestyle influencers posting beautiful pictures of their worrying lifestyles. Now, at least within the vibrant ecosystem of global women’s soccer, “triple espresso” is becoming synonymous with the three Black American women who scored a combined 10 of 12 goals for the U.S. at the Olympics and who seem poised to build a legacy on that foundation.
More espresso, more shots, more goals, more gold.
The individual and collective successes of Smith, Rodman and Swanson at the Olympics, each aged 24, 22 and 26, respectively, show that the rise of black women in soccer is inevitable – not just in the United States, but around the world. In addition to Nigeria and Zambia, African national teams that continue to impress in their own way despite the negligence and attempts of their federations to suppress their talent, countries like France and Canada – which otherwise have nothing against tapping into their black diaspora and fielding diverse rosters – are normalizing the inclusion of black and other players of color.
And that’s not even counting Brazil and Colombia, whose Afro-descendant populations, like the US, are among the largest in the world as a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade, and whose national soccer teams have historically reflected that ancestry. In the US, it’s clear that soccer has become increasingly melanocytic over the past decade.
At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, only two of the 18 players on the USWNT’s official roster were black, as was one of the four substitutes.
At the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, that number rose to three; all of these players made it into the 18-man squad.The U.S. women’s national team fought its way to a bronze medal in 2021, with three Black Olympians in the 18-person group and three more on the reserve list.
In contrast, eight of the 18 players on the 2024 Olympic squad were black – the same number as on the squads for the last three Olympics – with one listed as a reserve. And because midfielder Croix Bethune was activated and came on as a substitute for the United States in France, she also received a gold medal along with Smith, Rodman, Swanson, Crystal Dunn, Casey Krueger, Naomi Girma, Jaedyn Shaw and Lynn Williams.
Since soccer is the world’s sport, it’s obvious, if not imperative, that it reflects the races, ethnicities and cultures of the people who play it. And while there’s no official calculation to measure how much more beautiful the game has become as a result, there are some reliable metrics.
Anyone who has ever been to an impromptu game where multiple languages are flung back and forth across the field, for example, will know that there is a link between diversity and fun. And then there is the entertainment factor: At the Paris Olympics, six of the top seven female scorers were black and came from three different countries: France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto topped the list with seven goals, followed by Swanson and Zambian striker Barbra Banda with four; Rodman and Smith each scored three goals, as did German striker Lea Schüller.
Banda became the first player in Olympic history to score three hat tricks at the tournament. Nigeria nearly held world champions Spain to a goalless draw in the group stage. Black players on the USWNT also shone off the field.
Rodman made her pink braids the main character, while Girma, Rodman and Swanson played a significant role in bringing Alyssa Naeher, one of the toughest goalies in the world, a tiny inch closer to hugging. Dunn (who herself wore stormy lavender braids throughout the Games) and Krueger did their utmost to further expand opportunities for elite female athletes who have given birth and returned to work — especially for Black mothers, who statistically face a significantly higher risk of maternal mortality and are more likely to experience other serious pregnancy complications.
These new ways are the new normal. The presence of black and other players of color in women’s soccer will add even more depth and depth to the fun of the game. In the numerous victory photos the USWNT has posed for in Paris’ confetti-covered Parc des Princes, one thing will always stand out, especially for those who enjoy seeing themselves in the game they love: On stage, all nine of the team’s black players are lined up in their blue tracksuits, gold medals folded around their necks.
While “Triple Espresso” refers to only three of them, the photo reinforces the idea that blackness itself is a prism. Just as espresso can be diluted with water, topped with steamed, frothed or condensed milk, enhanced with cocoa, or spiced up with rum, vodka, bourbon or whiskey, there are endless ways to present yourself as a black football player. Both are built for the distance.
