Los Angeles, California Oct 1, 2024 (Issuewire.com) - A new ROKU channel app showcasing a grassroots womens academy soccer club has launched, thanks to a collaboration between Portland, Ore.-based The Sports Bra and United City FC Women from Los Angeles. The new channel is one more step forward in the movement to elevate womens sports and women athletes by raising visibility and increasing access to viewing opportunities. This partnership puts the spotlight on grassroots players yet to be discovered by pro clubs in both the USA and overseas.
The Sports Bra, the nations first-of-its-kind sports bar dedicated to showing only womens sports, was founded in 2022 by Jenny Nguyen with a mission to support and inspire women in sports and elevate the visibility of women athletes.
United City FC Women is a grassroots academy soccer club based in Los Angeles founded in 2020 that, like The Sports Bra, has promoted womens participation and visibility in sports by creating an environment for talent identification, development and a pathway to pro for female players.
The United City FC Women ROKU channel app, designed to broadcast live games, was installed and tested on site at The Sports Bra beginning in spring 2024. It is tailored to maximize the sports bar viewing experience. All games will be produced and streamed in HD with multi-cam angles giving viewers both close-up action from the field and a main grandstand view of full field play live from Championship Stadium in Irvine, California. Future plans include developing exclusive halftime content including interviews, mini stories, fitness workouts and other community building media to raise awareness of women in sports.
The demand for more access to womens sports is clear. A 2019 study found that 95% of sports coverage was mens sports, meaning just 5% were women. In the five years since, that has tripled to 15% and is on track to reach 20% by 2025.
"The Sports Bra has built its own path and made it work, despite the challenges of being the first, said Steven Hawthorne, UCFC Women owner. They have created an amazing environment to showcase women's sports in a welcoming and inclusive space with great food and drinks.
This groundbreaking partnership is another step towards helping elevate women athletes and introduce exciting players to fans who would have never been seen otherwise.
Both United City FC Women and The Sports Bra have big plans for the future. United City FC Women is embarking on an international tour in 2025/26 to play some of the biggest teams in Europe while continuing to focus on player identification and development. And The Sports Bra is in talks with the first wave of investors who are interested in owning a franchised location of the iconic womens sports bar.
The current movement around womens sports is just taking off, and the momentum is picking up every day, said Jenny Nguyen, founder and CEO of The Sports Bra. There is enormous room for growth in this industry, and the collaboration with UCFCWomen is a great way to keep moving forward and make real progress in our mission to support, elevate and inspire women athletes. This isnt a zero-sum game, and theres plenty of space for everyone to playand win!
Hawthorne added, The only way to help move the needle for women in sports is to work with other visionaries and fearless game-changers who not only put their money where their mouth is but do it with passion, commitment and for all the right reasons."
ABOUT UNITED CITY FC WOMEN
UCFCWomen was founded in 2019, not only out of necessity for the game but from a passion for soccer itself. It is a multicultural amateur womens soccer team focused on players who fell through the cracks, players overlooked by the college system, players needing a second chance, players told they're too old to compete, mothers wanting to return to play, minority players of Latino, African American, Pan-Asian and other immigrant backgrounds who never got their opportunities to be seen and many others. Earlier this year, UCFCWomen set a new record as a non-pro team by sending five players to represent their national teams at the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup. unitedcityfc.com @UCFCwomen
ABOUT THE SPORTS BRA
Founded in April 2022, The Sports Bra in Portland, Ore., is the worlds first sports bar to only show womens sports. Its mission is to make great food, delicious drinks, and provide a space that supports, empowers, and promotes girls and women in sports and in the community. In 2024, the company began welcoming investors to own The Sports Bra franchises nationwide. thesportsbraofficial.com @thesportsbrapdx
Source :The Sports Bra + United City FC Women
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