Italian women’s soccer had to wait almost a century before gaining visibility and professional recognition in Italy, a country where men’s soccer is often treated almost like a religion. The earliest traces of women’s soccer date back to the 1930s, when the Gruppo Femminile Calcistico was founded in Milan, one of the first teams made up entirely of women. The experiment did not last long, partly because of the cultural resistance of the time, and for many years women’s soccer remained a marginal phenomenon.
A real restart came only in 1968, when the Italian Women’s Football Federation was established and organized the first national championships. During the 1990s, women’s soccer began to strengthen, with the creation of competitive clubs and the emergence of key figures who helped bring greater attention to the sport. Among them was Carolina Morace, one of the first great stars of Italian women’s soccer and a symbol of a generation that made the national team competitive internationally.
Morace, born in Venice in 1964, was an extraordinary forward and one of the first major icons of the sport in Italy, paving the way for the generations that followed. With the Italian women’s national team she earned more than 150 caps and scored over 100 goals. At the club level, particularly with Lazio and Milan, she won numerous league titles and cups, establishing herself as one of the most successful players in European women’s soccer during the 1980s and 1990s.
Morace was also a pioneer off the field. In 1999 she made history by becoming the first woman to coach a professional men’s team in Italy, Viterbese, a role that attracted major media attention. She later coached several national teams, including Canada’s, helping promote the international development of the women’s game.
It was in the new millennium, however, that women’s soccer began to grow significantly, thanks to greater media coverage, increased investment from major clubs, and strong results by the national team. The turning point came on July 1, 2022, when Italy’s women’s Serie A officially became a professional league – a historic change that introduced contracts, benefits, and stronger protections for players.
Today, nearly a century after its beginnings, Italian women’s soccer attracts strong attendance in stadiums and growing media coverage. This surge in popularity has also been driven by a player who has become as famous in Italy as legendary male stars such as Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, and Roberto Baggio.
More than simply a player, Sara Gama has become a symbol of Italian women’s soccer. A defender for the national team for more than a decade and captain of the Azzurre, she represents a generation that did not simply play the game but helped change its status and public perception in Italy.
Born in Trieste (Friuli Venezia Giulia) in 1989, Gama began playing as a child on fields in her hometown before starting a path that quickly led her to become one of the sport’s leading figures. A key stage in her development came in 2010 when she moved to the United States and played for the Pali Blues Soccer Club, a professional women’s team based in Los Angeles.
Her career, which ended in 2025, unfolded between Italy and the rest of Europe. She became one of the pillars of the Italian national team, earning 135 caps, scoring seven goals, and wearing the captain’s armband for several years. At the club level she played more than 340 matches, wearing the jerseys of Tavagnacco, Chiasiellis, Paris Saint-Germain Féminine, Brescia, and Juventus Women, the Turin club with which she played 153 games and scored six goals between 2017 and 2025.
Her list of achievements includes seven Italian league titles, four Italian Cups, and five Italian Super Cups, as well as the UEFA Women’s Under-19 European Championship won with Italy in 2008. In 2019 she was inducted into the Italian Soccer Hall of Fame, a recognition that confirmed her place in the history of women’s soccer.
Alongside her athletic achievements, Gama has also played a central role off the field. Over the years she became an influential voice in the fight for the recognition of women players’ rights, contributing to the process that led to the professionalization of women’s soccer in Italy in 2022.
She has also become a cultural symbol beyond sports. Mattel created a Barbie doll in her likeness, designed to encourage girls to pursue their dreams in sports. Yet her legacy goes beyond trophies and titles. For many young Italian players, Sara Gama has been proof that soccer can become a profession and not just a passion – a figure capable of combining sport, civic commitment, and representation while playing a decisive role in the transformation of women’s soccer in Italy.
