Thomas was named a lifetime member of the Hines team and has extensive experience coaching with all future U.S. teams as well as working in U.S. Soccer.
She is vice president of US Soccer’s ‘Dark Coaches People’ and leads an initiative known as ‘Mothers Who Schoolteacher’.
Thomas says that if you work hard in women’s sport “you either become a women’s activist or you quit”, but visual inequality in football has inspired her interest in boosting the industry.
His inspiration came from a confrontation with former England coach Hope Powell, the first dark school teacher Thomas had in his football-playing past.
“I was playing in the Swedish youth teams and we played against England. Hope Powell was the coach. That was the first time I saw someone who looked like me,” Thomas told BBC Recreation.
“I had dreadlocks at the time and so did she. I thought ‘wow, she looks like me and she’s doing this. I’m going to do that.’
“That was the seed planted in me. I didn’t tell him anything else, but the ability to look at anyone who looked like me, in that place, impressed me.”
Thomas never met or spoke to Powell, but she remains a key influence in his life.
“I keep it in mind regularly. Every time I enter the stadium, I am very aware that there is no other option for the girls to train. It is not out of place for me,” she added.
“I hope my visibility creates opportunity and a feeling of ‘I’ll do this’ too. I chose a long time ago not to see it as a burden but as a privilege.
“If I fail, unfortunately it could affect those who follow me. That’s unfortunate, but it’s my reality. I just decide to adopt that attitude and think ‘it’s not just for me, but for those who come after me.'”
