No longer sidelined, women’s soccer attracts players and fans in France

hen Nolwenn Legouic first played soccer 20 years ago as a young teenager, she had to brave her parents’ disapproval, play in boys’ cleats and uniforms, and put up with derisive taunts from her male neighbors.

But that was another era. Since then, she says “it’s night and day, things have changed so much” in France. The parents of girls she now coaches are delighted to see them play soccer, she says, and “soccer is becoming a game for everyone.” Sales of women’s soccer gear at the sporting goods chain...