A changing playing field for women

There’s no question the world is wild about football. Last year, we watched in awe of the 2.1 billion search queries related to the World Cup. And regardless of whether it’s a tournament year, football (or soccer if you please) crushes the competition as the most-searched sport worldwide.

But here’s something that surprised us: the world searches three times more for girls’ soccer (and football) than for boys’ soccer—yet, only 1 percent of global searches for professional soccer are for women’s teams, while the other 99 percent are for men’s teams. That’s not for a lack of amazing performance on the field by women athletes—rather, it's because women’s sports have historically been paid less attention than men’s. For instance, women’s football was banned by the English FA (and other European organizations) until the 1970s, and it didn’t become an Olympic sport until 1996.

We care deeply about inspiring the next generation of girls to become leaders—whether they’re in the technology field or on the soccer pitch. So we got to thinking about how Search can help people discover all the amazing stories of women’s soccer that have historically been overlooked. During the 2015 Women’s World Cup, we’ll share search trends, stats and more to help you get to know these athletes and their talents on the field.

Here’s how to follow along and cheer on the remarkable women of pro soccer:

Check out our homepage Doodle. Today’s Doodle celebrates the start of the Cup. Check back for more as the tournament progresses.

Follow the tournament in search. Search for [womens world cup 2015] on your Android phone to get brackets, game times and updated scores.

Keep up with the latest. Follow us on Twitter and Google+ to find out more about women’s soccer, its history, rising stars and the major trending moments during the tournament. Google Search can also help you discover more about women’s football, past and present. For instance, try asking the Google app “when was the first Women’s World Cup held?” The answer may surprise you.

That’s just the start—we’re also teaming up with official sponsor Adidas to share more from the players throughout the tournament. See you at the games!