This new Forever® stamp celebrates women’s soccer in the United States. From youth leagues to the elite world champion U.S. national team, millions of girls and women throughout the country participate in the fast-paced, competitive sport of soccer.
The stamp artwork depicts a female soccer player in action, walloping a ball with a side volley. The somewhat grainy rendering lends a timeless quality to the design, evoking not just a single all-star athlete or era but the entire legacy of women’s soccer.
For decades, women’s athletic programs were all but invisible on college and university campuses, receiving very little of the funding and none of the recognition of their male counterparts. In 1972, Congress amended federal education law by adding Title IX, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex from any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
By 1985, female soccer players were finally able to compete on an international level. That year the U.S. women’s national team played its first official matches in Italy. In 1991, the U.S. women’s national soccer team competed in the first official FIFA Women’s World Cup, held in China, and won the championship.
Despite these successes, women’s soccer remained relatively unknown. It didn’t truly enter the international arena and gain a following until the 1996 Summer Olympics when women’s soccer was included as a sport for the first time. The U.S. beat out China for the gold medal.
Since then, dozens of elite female athletes have donned the U.S. women’s national soccer team jersey and dominated around the world. In 2019, the U.S. made history as the only team to win four FIFA Women’s World Cup titles.
Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamp with an original illustration by Noah MacMillan (1988–2022).
The Women’s Soccer stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp. This Forever stamp is always equal to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Product Specification:
| Issue: | Women’s Soccer Stamp |
| Item Number: | 483000 |
| Denomination & | First-Class Mail Forever |
| Type of Issue: | |
| Format: | Pane of 20 (1 design) |
| Series: | N/A |
| Issue Date & City: | February 16, 2023, Orlando, FL 32862 |
| Art Director: | Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA |
| Designer: | Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA |
| Artist: | Noah MacMillan (Deceased), Takoma Park, MD |
| Modeler: | Sandra Lane / Michelle Finn |
| Manufacturing Process: | Offset, Microprint |
| Printer: | Banknote Corporation of America |
| Press Type: | Gallus RCS |
| Stamps per Pane: | 20 |
| Print Quantity: | 20,000,000 stamps |
| Paper Type: | Phosphor, Block Tag |
| Adhesive Type: | Pressure-sensitive |
| Colors: | Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black |
| Stamp Orientation: | Horizontal |
| Image Area (w x h): | 1.42 x 0.84 in / 36.068 x 21.336 mm |
| Overall Size (w x h): | 1.56 x 0.98 in / 39.624 x 24.892 mm |
| Full Pane Size (w x h): | 7.24 x 5.92 in / 183.896 x 150.368 mm |
| Press Sheets Size (w x h): | 21.72 x 11.84 in./ 551.69 x 300.74 mm |
| Plate Size: | 120 stamps per revolution |
| Plate Number: | “B” followed by four (4) single digits |
| Marginal Markings: | |
| Front: | Plate number in four corners of the pane |
| Back: | ©2022 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (483000) • Plate position diagram (6) • Promotional text |