The Dallas Sting is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
-based international youth
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club headquartered in the
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
metropolitan area. Established for competitive amateur girl soccer players, it currently competes in the Elite Clubs National League, among others. Founded in 1973, it is the first and oldest all girls soccer club in the country.
History
1970s
Sting was founded in 1973 by Bill Kinder who, with
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States.
He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...
and a few key soccer pioneers put together teams of female athletes at the high school age who played in the newly created Dallas league called the High School Girls Soccer League (which became the Lake Highlands Girls Classic League). Players voted to call themselves the Sting, taking the name from the
1973 hit movie starring
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
and
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...
.
[Townsend, Brad]
"Where it all started: How Dallas-area Sting team paved the way for the United States’ Women’s World Cup team"
(3 July 2015)
In 1976, Sting became the first girls or women's soccer team to travel outside the United States and the first to travel to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Sting faced Mexico's national champion team in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, playing before 35,000 fans in Mexico City's Olympic Stadium prior to a division one men's professional match.
In 1977, Sting became the first American girls soccer team to play in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, playing in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
's
Gothia Cup
The Gothia Cup () is an international youth association football tournament organized by professional football club BK Häcken, which has been held annually since 1975 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Considered the biggest tournament in the world in terms ...
and falling to a team from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
in the championship final.
In 1978, Sting represented the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in the first triennial global invitational tournament for national and club teams, the
Women's World Invitation Tournament (the Chunghua Cup) in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, Taiwan, tying for third place. When the tournament was held again in 1981, Sting again represented the U.S., playing in front of 45,000 fans and ultimately tying for ninth place.
Starting in 1979, Sting added teams in new age groups until they had established a team at every age group level from U11-U19.
1980s
In 1980 at the first-ever
United States Youth Soccer Association
The United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer) is the largest youth affiliate and member of U.S. Soccer, the governing body for soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer includes 54 State Associations, one per state except for ...
Women's U19 National Championship, decades after the first men's youth soccer
National Amateur Cup
The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).
In 1923, U.S ...
. The Sting U19 team won the first-ever national championship, defeating St. Louis 5-0 in the championship match. It went on to win five of the first nine U.S. U19 national titles, including in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988, in addition to the 1980 win.
Upon finishing the 1981-82 season with 47 wins and 0 losses, Sting's collective nine-year record was 400 wins and just 9 losses.
In 1984, Sting was selected by the
U.S. Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...
to represent the U.S. in
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
at the first ever
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
tournament for women's national teams. Sting faced off against established National Teams from countries all over the world, defeating
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
to advance to the finals. Sting beat
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in the Championship game becoming the first American team, male or female, to win a major international tournament.
Sting participated in the largest youth tournament in the world at the time during 1985, playing in the Norway Cup, featuring more than 1,500 male and female teams. The team earned 1st place and was chosen as the Team of the Tournament (out of both male and female teams) for their level of professionalism, discipline, and sportsmanlike conduct.
Players
In 1991, four Sting players were invited to join the 16-player roster for the
United States women's national soccer team
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's Association football, soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four FIFA Women's World Cup, Wom ...
to compete in the first-ever
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...
. While two players elected not to go,
Carla Overbeck
Carla Werden Overbeck (; born May 9, 1968) is a retired American soccer player and longtime member and captain of the United States women's national soccer team. She is currently an assistant coach of Duke Blue Devils, Duke University's women's s ...
and
Tracey Leone
Tracey Marie Leone (; born May 5, 1967) is a retired American soccer midfielder who was a member of the United States women's national soccer team. She was the first American to win a world championship as both a player and as a head coach.
In ...
represented the U.S. among the
1991 FIFA Women's World Cup squads.
In popular culture
Dallas Sting's 1984 trip to China was due to be the subject of a film starring
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
, but it was scrapped in September 2022, just weeks before the start of filming, due to "disturbing allegations surrounding aspects of the true story".
See also
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USWNT All-Time Best XI In December 2013, the USWNT All-Time Best XI was named by the United States Soccer Federation. A committee of 56 former soccer players and administrators, as well as media members, voted for the team. 11 United States women's national soccer team pl ...
* ''
Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team'' – 2005
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
documentary
*
List of women's national football teams
This is a complete list of national teams in women's association football, arranged alphabetically within their confederations.
AFC (Asia)
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Women's association football around the world
The following article gives a list of Women's association football confederations, sub-confederations and associations around the world.
For international competitions see the article ''International competitions in women's football''.
By conti ...
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United States U-20 women's national soccer team
The United States U-20 women's national soccer team is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior women's national team. The team most recently ...
*
United States U-23 women's national soccer team
The United States U-23 women's national soccer team is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the full Women's National Team. The team competes in a va ...
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Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), 2001–03
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Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), 2009–11
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National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), 2013–present
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Soccer in the United States
Soccer in the United States is run by different organizations. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the country, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highest ...
*
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF.
The U.S. team ha ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Dallas Stingsoccer clubs in the United States]
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-eart ...
Association football clubs established in 1973
1973 establishments in Texas
Women's sports in Texas