June 15 – BMO Stadium in Los Angeles is rapidly becoming the de facto home of the Trump resistance as National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) Angel City, joined LAFC in protesting the U.S. President’s immigration crackdown.
On Saturday night the club made a bold statement with the words ‘Immigrant City Football Club’ printed on shirts across every players chest.
This wasn’t just another pre-match kit change. This was Angel City standing with the stark reality of thousands of families over the past week who live in fear and terror.
As 17,000-plus fans filtered into their seats – the kind of numbers that continue to set the standard for women’s professional soccer in America – each received one of 10,000 specially printed t-shirts bearing that same ‘Immigrant City’ declaration, backed with ‘Los Angeles is for Everyone’ in both English and Spanish.
Their matchday opponents, the North Carolina Courage, would spoil the party with a 2-1 victory, but the real story unfolded before kickoff when Becky G, the Grammy-nominated singer who joined the ownership group alongside Natalie Portman and Serena Williams, stepped to the microphone with words that cut straight to the heart of American soccer’s DNA.
“The fabric of this city is made of immigrants,” she declared. “Football does not exist without immigrants. This club does not exist without immigrants.”
Captain Ali Riley, the New Zealand international who’s become the voice of this franchise, echoed those sentiments after the final whistle. “Football, the game that we all love, we have it here because of immigrants. It’s played the way it is because of immigrants. This club that is such a huge part of me wouldn’t be here without immigrants.”
It’s the kind of moment that underscores why women’s soccer continues to lead the conversation on social issues in American sports.
Former USWNT player and World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe’s battles with the previous Trump administration are the stuff of legend and she along with countless other athletes have never shied away from using their platform.
The timing couldn’t be more pointed, with military personnel now deployed across Los Angeles as immigration enforcement intensifies under the new administration. Saturday night wasn’t just about soccer – it was about identity, belonging, and the very soul of the beautiful game in America.
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