To Create Opportunities for Other Women, Odessa Jenkins Formed Her Own League

This article is part of a Women and Leadership special report highlighting women who are charting new pathways and fighting for opportunities for women and others.In the football world, those who know Odessa Jenkins would say that she’s got fire, spunk and the ability to turn things up a notch.It’s an apt description for Ms.Jenkins, a native of what was then known as South-Central Los Angeles, who has distinguished herself in the world of female tackle football as a Women’s Football Hall of Fame running back, holder of eight world titles and three gold medals from various sports entities, and as head coach for the Texas Elite Spartans.Ms.

Jenkins, 44, who now resides in Dallas, was deeply frustrated with the lack of diversity in the male-dominated field of football.Though she found some avenues to play, she was painfully aware that there were not many such opportunities for other women — and those that did exist were not profit-generating and didn’t offer economic stability.In 2019 she founded the Women’s National Football Conference, W.N.F.C., a for-profit, full-contact women’s professional football league whose mission is to foster financial equity for women and girls through the power of football.“I wanted women to be recognized as professional football players and to be paid for it,” she said.

“I didn’t want to wait another 60 years for that to happen.”The league started out with 15 teams across the United States, including the Texas Elite Spartans.Since then, the league has gained three teams.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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