SHAWNEE, Kan — Kansas City will soon celebrate a historic milestone with the opening of CPKC stadium, the world's first soccer stadium purpose-built for a women’s professional sports team in the world. As we inch closer to its opening, young KC female soccer players are sharing their thoughts on what this one-of-a-kind stadium means to them.
Athena FC is a new club who says as Kansas City first only all female youth soccer club their core mission is to develop strong women and showcase the power women of all ages hold.
“I like soccer so much because you get to be challenged," said Evelyn Delgado-Vega player for Athena FC, " and I like the Current because they’re super duper cool and fun.”
The focus of Athena FC is to help young athletes shine with help from top mental and physical performance coaches. Coaches teach players the fundamentals of soccer while also engaging them in conversations regarding nutrition, team spirit and the importance of self-care.
"Our main core goal is to help these girls build confidence not only to be great players, but be great people.” said Lauren Paccapaniccia, coach with Athena FC.
Paccapaniccia went on to explain as KC gets ready to celebrate the opening of CPKC the domino effect will be felt within Athena FC soccer fields serving as a beacon of hope.
“It’s just important to have those roles close to us where these girls can go watch them live and be part of that energy," said Paccapaniccia.
For the players, CPKC is fueling their excitement around women sports and serves as a reminder of why it’s important to support women sports.
“I like the KC Current because they are really good and they’re really the only team we can watch," said Eva Quillin with Athena FC, " a lot of people think men are tougher than women but it’s not true.”
To learn more on Athena FC visit their website.
