Good little yarn.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport/130803847/why-football-fern-ali-riley-wont-just-stick-to-sport-at-this-years-fifa-world-cup
For a brief moment in the United States summer of 1999, it felt like time had stopped for Ali Riley.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport/130803847/why-football-fern-ali-riley-wont-just-stick-to-sport-at-this-years-fifa-world-cup
For a brief moment in the United States summer of 1999, it felt like time had stopped for Ali Riley.
Crammed into the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, among 90,000 others for the final of the 1999 Fifa Women’s World Cup, an 11-year-old Riley could only hold her breath and hope as Brandi Chastain stepped up to take the decisive penalty shot.
A successful strike would secure the US Women’s National Team a historic victory over China.
“I just remember it was so hot - everyone that was there that day still talks about how hot it was - and I was so nervous. It doesn’t get any more dramatic than a penalty shootout and I think the whole stadium just went dead quiet,” the now 35-year-old Riley recalls.
“And then … it just erupted.”
Riley was among a generation of young American girls for whom that moment ignited something within.
“For me and I think a lot of other young people at that time, we suddenly dreamt about doing something huge with our lives,” says Riley.
Nearly 24 years on, Riley is on the cusp of a “full-circle moment”. The Football Ferns skipper, whose football dreams were inspired by “the 99ers” World Cup triumph in the city she was raised in, is preparing to lead her side in a home World Cup later this year.
Riley hopes the tournament, which New Zealand are co-hosting with Australia, can make a similar impression on Kiwi kids, just as it did for her.
“To be able to see your national team play live in a World Cup, and all these incredible teams and global superstars of the game here in New Zealand, I just really think it will impact so many different generations, for so many different reasons,” says Riley, who is eligible to play for New Zealand through her Kiwi father, John.
Riley was among a generation of young American girls for whom that moment ignited something within.
“For me and I think a lot of other young people at that time, we suddenly dreamt about doing something huge with our lives,” says Riley.
Nearly 24 years on, Riley is on the cusp of a “full-circle moment”. The Football Ferns skipper, whose football dreams were inspired by “the 99ers” World Cup triumph in the city she was raised in, is preparing to lead her side in a home World Cup later this year.
Riley hopes the tournament, which New Zealand are co-hosting with Australia, can make a similar impression on Kiwi kids, just as it did for her.
“To be able to see your national team play live in a World Cup, and all these incredible teams and global superstars of the game here in New Zealand, I just really think it will impact so many different generations, for so many different reasons,” says Riley, who is eligible to play for New Zealand through her Kiwi father, John.