In its fifth year, the Black Women’s Player Collective (BWPC) is doubling down on its core values, using Juneteenth as both a celebration and a call to action across women’s soccer.

Founded in 2020 amid a national reckoning over racial injustice, the BWPC’s goal has been to create a public and private space for Black women in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

“But we very quickly realized that it’s just as important for our public image to connect with the next generation,” Utah Royals defender, and acting BWPC chair, Imani Dorsey tells The Athletic.

“We didn’t grow up looking up to Black female figures in our sport. The ability to give young Black girls and young kids in general, just another idea of what a female footballer looks like has been really important to us, and really impactful.”

While participation at the college and professional levels has increased, the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, a body which focuses on youth participation by sport, found that 35 per cent of Black youth aged six to 17 regularly participated in sports during 2023, which is down from 45 per cent in 2013.

The BWPC’s mission is front and center this weekend as the NWSL and its clubs celebrate Juneteenth (that’s today, June 19, but teams have been honoring the day of remembrance throughout the month).

As part of its ‘Get Girls to Games’ initiative, the BWPC has teamed up with five NWSL clubs — Angel City FC, Racing Louisville, Gotham FC, Washington Spirit and Bay FC — who have designated their June home fixtures as Juneteenth games. The partnership brings young girls, especially from underrepresented communities, to their first professional matches through partnerships with organizations such as Girls Inc. and PowerPlay NYC.

The BWPC also created a special shirt, designed by artist Cortney Herron, for players to wear before matches.

“They feel so just essentially Black, and unapologetically Black,” Dorsey says of the design. “We want our organization to be a hub for Black creativity, connection and empowerment. So if we can amplify Black artists, Black creators, Black businesses, just as much as our Black players who are playing, that is the essence of the Black community. It’s togetherness, it’s unity, it’s representation.”

But Dorsey says the BWPC’s work doesn’t stop with one weekend. It is collaborating with the U.S. Soccer Foundation to build more mini-pitches and work toward long-term goals that include subsidizing club fees and challenging the entrenched pay-to-play model that shuts out many young athletes — something that is personal for Dorsey. Her mother took on a second job just to pay for club soccer for her and her sisters. It’s a story that’s far too common.

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Project Play, an initiative launched in 2013 by the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society program, found that, in 2022, families spent an average of $1,188 (£885 at current rates) annually per child for them to play soccer.

The NWSL’s weekend activities are not just one-offs, either. The league has been built on long-term relationships between the collective and its clubs.

The relationship between the BWPC and the Spirit, for example, is not solely focused on June.

One of the BWPC’s top missions — bringing soccer to predominantly Black communities — aligns closely with work the Spirit has been committed to for years, as seen through the club’s ongoing relationship with DC Scores, a local afterschool program in the area. The Spirit has previously sponsored clinics with the program, and was able to create a mini-pitch sponsored by the collective.

“The work with the Black Women’s Player Collective was actually helpful in getting that program launched with the principal in that school,” RaShauna Hamilton, vice president of community development at the Spirit, tells The Athletic.

The Spirit aims to be a strategic partner by connecting the BWPC with key local contacts to help expand its reach and impact. Even when not directly co-hosting events, it offers support through resources, networking, and a visible presence. Partnering with BWPC for Juneteenth apparel may seem minimal, Hamilton says, but having this representation can resonate with fans of the Spirit.

“D.C. has one of the highest African-American populations and one of the highest minority populations in all of the country, and so our representative and the Black Women’s Player Collective are really important for us to speak directly to our audiences,” Hamilton says.

In Harrison, New Jersey, Gotham FC will welcome 56 girls through Power Play New York City to their match against Bay FC on Saturday as part of the club’s partnership with the collective. Gotham FC will also offer the league’s official Juneteenth shirt to fans for purchase. This is part of the wider collaboration between BWPC and the league.

“Gotham (as a club) has always been, and will always be, a safe, inclusive space for our fans, and so that is always a priority for us,” says Laura Petro, Gotham’s vice-president of brand and fan experience. “That is always something that is in the fabric of who we are as a club. … now more than ever.”

On the West Coast, Bay FC donated 10 percent of the proceeds from its Juneteenth shirt sales to the collective. Meanwhile, Racing Louisville will wear the shirts before the game against Orlando Pride on Friday. The club told The Athletic that the team will also celebrate legendary boxer and civil-rights leader Muhammad Ali, who was from Louisville.

While some major sports leagues and governing bodies, including the NFL and FIFA, roll back their anti-racism initiatives, the BWPC is doing the exact opposite.

Dorsey is not surprised by others’ retreat from their 2020 promises, though it’s a trend the BWPC finds disappointing.

“We’re not surprised. We know history. But that doesn’t mean the work stops,” Dorsey says. “If anything, we’re doubling down. The fight for equity and representation isn’t a moment, it’s the mission.”