Thunderbird Theme of the Week - Mia Hamm
"Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don't settle for them." Mia Hamm
Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is won of the most decorated players in Women's Soccer History. Hamm is an American former professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the United States national team from 1987 to 2004. Hamm was the face of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, where she played for the Washington Freedom from 2001 to 2003. She played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels (1989-93) and helped the team win four NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship titles. She is widely considered one of the most influential players of all time.
Hamm held the record for most international goals scored until 2013 and remains in third place as of 2023. She ranks fourth in the history of the U.S. team for international caps (276) and first for career assists (144). Hamm was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002. She was chosen by Pelé as one of FIFA's 125 greatest living players in the FIFA 100, to celebrate the organization's 100th anniversary. Hamm was named U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year five years in a row, and won three ESPY awards including Soccer Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year. The Women's Sports Foundation named her Sportswoman of the Year in 1997 and 1999. She was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame, and was the first woman inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame.
A co-owner of Los Angeles FC and Angel City FC, Hamm is also a global ambassador for FC Barcelona and is on the board of directors of Serie A club A.S. Roma. Author of Go For the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer a A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life, Hamm has been featured in several films and television shows, including the HBO documentary, Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team.
In 1999, Hamm founded the Mia Hamm Foundation following the death of her adopted brother Garrett in 1997 from complications of aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease he had endured for ten years. Dedicated to promoting awareness of and raising funds for families in need of a bone marrow or cord blood transplant, the foundation encourages people to register in the national bone marrow registry and provides funds to UNC Health Care and Children's Hospital Los Angeles. It also focuses on creating opportunities to empower women through sport. Hamm hosts an annual celebrity soccer game in Los Angeles to support the foundation.