By Kathryn Lakin, Communications Intern
Editor’s note: Nicole DiSante is a 2010 Fulbright alumna and two-time Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF 2023 and 2024) grantee. Her 2024 CDAF project, Soccer Girls, aims to empower young female athletes and advance gender equality in a male-dominated sport in Marseille. We spoke with Nicole about her project, the role sports play in building healthy communities, and what inspires her work.
For 2024 Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund (CDAF) grantee Nicole DiSante, sports and play are part of her identity, offering something special she can only describe as a “psychic connection.” Nicole, who grew up in Tuscon, AZ, plays basketball, tennis, and — perhaps most importantly to her — soccer. “I’ve loved playing soccer my whole life, said Nicole, “whenever I traveled, I would bring a ball and meet people through the game…. Team building comes from training together.” Now, Nicole is hoping that soccer can create that same connection for young girls on the other side of the globe through her latest CDAF project, Soccer Girls: Building Capacity for Gender Equality in a male-dominated sport in Marseille.
ExchangeAlumna and CDAF grant recipient Nicole DiSante on the soccer field. All photos provided by author.
An alumna of the 2010 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, Nicole studied urban planning history and the politics of sustainability in Brazil’s green city of Curitiba. The Fulbright scholarship gave Nicole her first chance to plan a community service project: a documentary on bicycle activism, O Veículo Fantástico, to encourage more cycling and bike lines to support healthy communities and engaged citizens, but she had plenty of ideas left to explore. “I love to imagine and plan community projects because I believe in organizing the things we want to see,” said Nicole. “I believe in helping other people share their ideas and think creatively to be the change they want to see, too.”
“I always wanted to be a soccer coach, but the opportunity hadn’t arrived,” remarked Nicole. After completing her Fulbright research, Nicole spent 10 years running educational workshops for youth focused on language, story writing, and art. As she spent more time in the classroom, Nicole noticed a need that was largely unfulfilled. Students spent a lot of time sitting at a desk and not much time playing or moving. “I see the need for games in order to learn better,” said Nicole and to work “on the socio-emotional areas of life.” Nicole started to bring a ball into her classes to get kids moving and thinking kinesthetically. As she connected with kids around the world through teaching, Nicole became even more convinced of the need for team building and play.
Participants at the storytelling-through-comic books workshop.
Nicole moved to Marseille, France, where the idea for Soccer Girls began. After meeting some local partners at a storytelling-through-comic books workshop for immigrant youth, Nicole connected with Lena and Abdel of Archipel 13, local youth leaders who wanted to start a girls’ soccer program. Together, the team built out the project that would become Soccer Girls, a program that would plan soccer events for girls aged 11-14 in Marseille by working with middle schools, training coaches, and arranging soccer tournaments among schools.
In Marseille, private clubs organize sports teams rather than schools. Soccer is also a male-dominated sport in Marseille, and Nicole and her local partners realized that those organizing soccer clubs in Marseille are not particularly invested in girls. “My whole life I played on teams, but I never thought about the organization behind these structures. I feel grateful to all those people that I never met who let me have great experiences playing on so many teams,” said Nicole. Now, her project team plans to use CDAF grant money to partner with seven middle schools to create opportunities for girls to play soccer.
“Our objective is to work with schools to create a sense of teamwork, build self-confidence, build healthy lifestyles, and increase positive, healthy relationships for girls,” added Nicole. “Teams are communities.” Having played sports growing up, Nicole knows that playing on a team can boost confidence and create lasting bonds, no matter the sport. “I think sports help girls feel confident through exercise and can remind us that we are not alone,” said Nicole. “Now that I am just coming into this role, I see how it is a calling and a life’s work. I want to be a coach and help other young people feel good in their bodies and connect to their teammates.”
Nicole also sees the importance of sports as a form of public diplomacy where athletes can step up and represent their communities on the world stage. Looking to the Olympics, Nicole said she is inspired by Palestinian-American swimmer, Valerie Tarazi, who is on a mission to “speak up for the people who can’t.” While athletes are a source of pride for their communities, politics and biases touch sports as well. Nicole points to France’s hijab ban as an example of a continued bias that targets women. “The hijab ban shows that women’s choices are not respected, and we must continue to fight for all girls to play sports and live as they choose,” said Nicole. “Sports touch people in an emotional way.” While sports bring communities together, Nicole added that “mega sporting events like the Olympics are meshed with politics and problematic policies.”
Nicole with U.S. students and locals in Brazil in 2018 during the World Cup.
However, Nicole knows that combatting gender bias in sports is critical at the local level as well, and she hopes programs like Soccer Girls will continue to grow. While Nicole no longer plays on the same soccer team she did as a child, she cherishes the community that teams create, and she says she has learned an important lesson: “You are never too old to play games. Play as much as possible like your life depends on it. To imagine innovative futures, I think it is imperative that we take some time to play and dream.”
For now, Nicole is focused on continuing to play and creating space for girls in Marseille to play as well. “I really believe in the power of sports and arts for youth. I see it as my calling to give it back and build some playful spaces for others too,” said Nicole. Working with her local partners, Nicole is ready to build up the organization needed for teams, training, and tournaments. “It will hopefully empower girls to take up some space on the soccer field!”
To learn more about Soccer Girls and Nicole’s previous CDAF projects, follow her instagram @our_city_arts.