Brandi Chastain knows the importance of the Women鈥檚 World Cup. In 1999 she scored the winning shootout goal to clinch the gold medal for the U.S. over China. She famously (and controversially, at the time) whipped off her jersey like so many men do after they score. The photo of Chastain on her knees, fists clenched, blond ponytail disheveled and wearing a black sports bra lands at No. 14 on the of all time.
On Friday, Chastain will help launch a bolder, rebranded , the organization formerly known as Why the Women鈥檚 World Cup Matters. There was a time when founder and former Canadian national player Carrie Serwetnyk couldn鈥檛 get her calls returned from the city鈥檚 two daily newspapers. Now the advocate is hosting an event with Chastain and former prime minister Kim Campbell to inspire women and girls to get involved with sport and, vitally, sports leadership.
Canada hosts the FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup in 2015, and Serwetnyk is leveraging the advantage of being a host nation to draw attention to gender inequality in soccer.
The event begins at 7:30 p.m. May 9 at the Vogue Theatre. Tickets $20. A VIP reception begins at 6 p.m. and costs $97.
Chastain hosts a clinic for girls aged nine to 16 on May 10 from 12 to 1:30 p.m. at David Lam Park.
