USWNT’s Emily Fox is using her partnership with Under Armour to support the next generation of female athletes

Emily Fox is preparing for the World Cup this summer and has a focus on helping the next generation of soccer players. 

The world will be looking on this summer as 32 nations will be battling it out in the Women’s World Cup. The World Cup only comes around every four years and for the female soccer players of the world, it is a chance to show those who maybe don’t watch on a regular basis exactly what they are missing. In the United States, women’s sports get less than 6 percent of sports media airtime according to a Purdue University study. However, in 2019 the Women’s World Cup drew over 20 million views in the U.S. That is 22 percent higher than the Men’s World Cup two years earlier. Despite the popularity, female athletes are still struggling to get the same pay and playing conditions as their male counterparts.

USWNT member Emily Fox is planning to use her platform this summer to advance women’s and girls’ status in sports. Along with her partnership with Under Armour, Fox is looking to make a difference with the kinds of equipment available to women and with the types of programs accessible to kids. FanSided caught up with Fox to discuss this cause and her World Cup bid this summer.

“With Under Armour, what’s been really cool is how I’m able to give my feedback and insight to them and how they use it immediately and are so receptive to feedback and want to really help the woman’s game not just by supporting it, but by creating new products specifically for women,” she said. “With that, there’s a new cleat coming out, and it’s not designed based on kind of how it has always been, which is men’s sizing and so it’s entirely woman based, which is really exciting. And I’ve been getting to try them out and we’ll be hopefully wearing them for the World Cup.”

Emily Fox wants to give the next generation the same or better opportunities than she had

For years the U.S Women’s National Team (USWNT) has been fighting for equality. They want equal pay, field conditions, and other opportunities that their male counterparts have. In recent years it seems the hard-fought battles are finally paying off. At the forefront of these battles have been current USWNT members such as Alex Morgan, Megan Repinoe, and more. Now Fox is hoping to continue that fight for equality while helping to make things better for the next generation of girls looking to play the game she loves, soccer, along with all the other sports.

“I do think the message that our national team and a lot of individuals like Alex and Becky (Sauerbrunn) have been sharing in terms of equal pay and access to the same facilities, flights, and recoveries as the men, but I still think there can be more,” she said. “For me, personally, I want, and again, I think so many of my teammates do a great job of this, but just getting more girls and kids into sport. I think that is so important because I was very fortunate to have that and so being able to give kids access to sports and access to that freedom of just being able to have fun and try something new and be a part of a team, I think that would probably be my biggest goal.”

Fox is lucky to have the sponsorship of a company that shares these same goals. This summer, Under Armour, will be partnering with Fox’s teammate Kelley O’Hara to release a Hero Film showcasing her and rival Alex Greenwood of England’s journeys to the World Cup. In the film, they are paired with two up-and-coming female hip-hop artists, Gavlyn of the USA and Nadia Rose of England. In addition, Under Armour will also be donating nearly $500K of equipment to sports organizations in their “She Who Plays” Initiative. This program serves young girls throughout the United States.

“We are also doing the She Who Plays Initiative, and Under Armour is gonna be donating, I believe it is half a million dollars to sports and supplies for sports,” Fox said. “In terms of our values aligning, Under Armour is a push me in terms of wanting to do more. I think those are great examples of that.”

Under Armour is unveiling a new Magnetico Elite 3 FG Soccer Cleats and a HeatGear Armour High Sports Bra that puts the focus on the needs of women first. Fox and her USWNT teammate O’Hara will be wearing this new gear as they head into the group play of the World Cup that begins on July 21.