Allie Long spoke exclusively for 90 minutes about his football journey so far and explained the highs and lows of winning the 2019 World Cup and the pressure that comes with tackling a male-dominated industry as a woman.
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Long has been very successful since starting her professional career in 2009. The midfielder played with several teams in the National Women’s Soccer League before making her international debut with Paris Saint-Germain in Division 1 Feminine in 2011. Since France, Long returned to play for the famous OL Reign and recently transferred to the newly renamed NJ / NY Gotham.
In addition to the plan, Allie Long has undertaken to fight for equality in sports of all forms. During the interview, the NWSL star expressed how childhood memories and World Cup experiences made her feel strongly about becoming a figure for change.
Primarily, How did it feel to switch to NJ / NY Gotham FC, a team representing your hometown?
Before I found out I was being traded, I would of course watch all the NWSL games to see what the team looks like and noticed that there was something about Gotham that was really cool to witness. Far from it, they had this culture that developed, a new brand that many players respect, so all the pieces came together to make it the most professional environment. It was great to find out I was shopping there. To also be at home, I feel so passionate about growing football games, both female and male, especially as close to home as possible, so for girls to come and see me play from Long Island where I grew up is just such a wonderful feeling. I’m very passionate about where I grew up from, and now it’s a completely different feeling to be able to give back to that area than to play in Washington for the reign.
How have you noticed that the women’s league has developed during your career?
To look back and compare with where we are now, I think the change is so remarkable and tells about the future of women’s football. Before there was a story of popularity associated with the national team, it would only hear the sport when USWNT played, but after winning the back-to-back World Cup, you can see more sponsors coming behind NWSL teams and players. We have new teams coming in, an incredible new leadership team in LA and big names coming to football. We are in the middle of growth and it is so exciting to experience. I’m so hopeful and it’s so encouraging to see where the road leads. We paved the way to get started and we are at a really good point. It makes me so happy to see how many people are on Twitch streaming the games and major broadcasters showing them.
Speaking of the World Cup, how did it feel as a player to win the tournament and deal with the aftermath that came with it?
I do not think people realize the emotional aspect of it. You go through this training block, through the World Cup and win just to have a million different things that attract you. It was one of, if not the most rewarding experiences I have ever had. But going forward, I think it is our responsibility as female football players in this wave to take a stand on gender equality and fight for what we hope the next generation will not have to fight for. We have all taken on it as a unified group and it is very empowering to be surrounded by this group.
We have seen you fight for gender equality on several fronts, both on and off the field. What are some experiences that make you feel so passionate about this?
Growing up was weird, because when I was younger if you asked what I wanted to do I would answer a professional football player but never understood that there was a separate female for it. I did not understand it, because in the gym and during the break I would be with all the boys who played, I did not know professionally that it was also separate. I’ve always been the only girl, and a man’s first reaction would always be funny to me and a little sad, but it came with a huge responsibility to prove yourself. Once you showed yourself, it was good, and the guys would give you their respect, but men never had to go through that step. It’s just me who has to earn it or prove something first. I hope for future generations that there are no reactions from the guys, because they know she can beat or be better than any of the others on the field. It was never a game I could take it easy, because all eyes were on me and if we lost it was because it was a girl on the team.
Allie Long and Alex Morgan with the 2019 World Cup trophy / Marc Atkins / Getty Images
Anytime I play football, even if it’s just picking up guys and I’m the only girl I feel like I represent every single woman. I am on the board of the Queens Game Collective, an organization that promotes gender equality and female representation in the gaming community. Only in the gaming world do I think I’m the only female athlete who takes Call of Duty as seriously as streaming while I play. Being a woman in the gaming world felt exactly the same as being a female football player, they are both very male-dominated industries.
Kelley O’Hara, Alex Morgan and I also started a clothing company called Beat Everybody when we first went to the World Cup because we realized that there was no equipment or merch other than just the shirts. We felt passionate about creating because there was nothing out there, for the men’s team you have all the big sports shops that carry different goods or order it online so we felt strongly that we also had that feeling for the women’s team.
What is your advice for the younger generation of female athletes who see you as a hero?
The best thing you can do is set your goal and never take your eyes off it, no matter what people say about you or to you, you need to have dimmers. You have to go out for whatever you want. When you are so passionate about it and you do not let anything else get into your bubble, you can do whatever you want. It’s easy for girls to feel inferior, but now it’s about believing that you are not from the beginning and do not take any bullsh * t from anyone. For anyone who ever told me I could not do it, or those who said I can not do it on the national team, that is my goal now and that is what I will continue to fight for.
