Soccer Legend Abby Wambach to Give Free Public Talk at Walton Arena

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Abby Wambach

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Abby Wambach, the American soccer icon who retired in December after dominating the game for 15 years, will speak at the University of Arkansas as part of the student-sponsored Distinguished Lecture Series. The free public lecture will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, April 18 in Bud Walton Arena. No tickets are required. 

“We are extremely excited to be able to bring Abby Wambach to campus,” said Stephanie Long, chair of the student Distinguished Lecture committee. “The committee has worked very hard to bring a variety of excellent speakers this school year, and we are very pleased to be able to wrap the season up with a speaker of her caliber. We think the campus and the community will be very eager to hear what she has to say.”

Wambach is widely recognized as one of the world’s greatest soccer players, an intense competitor, with a history of clutch goals. She is the all-time leading scorer in international soccer history, with 184 career goals, but she is also known as the leading voice for women’s sports and for her generation of female soccer players and athletes.

Wambach grew up in Rochester, New York and played college soccer at the University of Florida, where she was part of the NCAA championship team in 2001.

In the 2004 and 2012 Olympics she led the USA team in scoring, taking home gold medals both years. She missed the 2008 Olympics because of a broken leg.

She was also the leading scorer in the 2008 and 2011 Women’s World Cup tournaments, was named the 2012 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, and in 2015 was both World Cup Champion and one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

She continues to serve as ambassador for Right to Play and UN Women among other organizations, she plans to continue working to inspire young people to work to achieve their goals.