We’re excited to welcome Rachael Rapinoe to the DU Academy Team! Her soccer resume is extensive, and we’re so proud to have her expertise and insight help shape and develop the DU Academy soccer program.

Rachael has played Division I collegiate soccer with the University of Portland, semi-professional with the Los Angeles Ajax, and professional soccer in Reykjavick, Iceland. Her experience doesn’t stop there; she has been a soccer coach and counselor for different soccer teams and camps in Portland and Los Angeles where she was responsible for the technical development of youth players, planning practices and team goals as well as developing awareness of women’s soccer.Rachael has also been sent as soccer representative for the U.S. to Japan and Indonesia to facilitate and teach soccer clinics and increase the participation of females in women’s sports. Rachael won the 2005 Women’s Division I Soccer National Championship with the University of Portland, where she played with her twin sister, Megan.

Here is what being a part of the DU Academy means to Rachael:

“I am truly honored to help with the Darfur United Soccer Academy. This is an opportunity for a lot of people to help bring joy, inspiration and leadership into the lives of so many displaced Darfur refugees. If soccer can help bridge the gap between devastation and hope in their community and other communities around the world, then I am excited and eager to be a part of this incredible project.”