The Raising Her Game crew visited the opening of TOCA Social’s first location in the United States. RHG director interviewed USWNT great Abby Wambach and we also heard from former USMNT player Eddie Lewis and former pro soccer player and current NFL placekicker Brandon Aubrey.

Lewis founded soccer training company TOCA Football. He then added TOCA Social, which, until now, has placed its soccer-themed restaurants/bars only in the UK. He built a U.S. version because he sees how the popularity of the game has expanded since his playing days. One of the things we learned from making the Raising Her Game documentary is that the women’s game was a primary driving force in soccer’s growth in the USA, perhaps THE most important factor.

“I would argue that women’s soccer has really carried the sport to where we know it to be right now. Our women’s national team has had so much international success,” Wambach told us.

“The women’s team has been fantastic for as long as I’ve been alive, and always kind of carrying the sport,” said Aubrey, who turns 31 this year. “You want to watch your team win, and they’ve been on top for a long time, so they’ve done a great job. They inspire the younger kids, boys and girls alike, to want to play soccer.”

Lewis has seen firsthand how girls and women have embraced the sport.

“If you look at our performance centers, half of our customers are girls and women. So the women’s game is critical to us,” he said. “For us, and certainly in America, you know women’s soccer is only growing and going to get bigger.”

In Raising Her Game, we trace the rise of women’s sports alongside the growth of American soccer. Wambach’s exceptional performances played a big role in the Olympic and World Cup victories that created the top-level buzz that trickled down to the grassroots levels. She invested in TOCA Social in part because she hopes it will provide a welcoming atmosphere to inspire soccer-loving girls or those who don’t even know they love soccer yet.

“Who knows, maybe in the next couple days, the greatest goal scorer in the history of women’s soccer is going to walk through these doors building themselves, building their dream of one day maybe playing for their country.”