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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview with Scott French

Aired September 20, 2003 - 09:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That's pretty impressive right there.
Well, this is pretty impressive too, you know. This should have been a banner week for women's soccer, women's professional soccer in this country. It was launched in 1999, when the U.S. women's team won the World Cup. We all remember that.

But the WUSA announced on Monday that it was folding after just three years.

Nevertheless, though, the Women's World Cup kicks off today, 16 nations are competing this year, led by the defending champ U.S. national team. This is the fourth World Cup for women, and there are these four games today. Now, the U.S. team plays Sweden tomorrow.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And actually, the WUSA said it was suspending operations, so there is some hope for reviving women's pro soccer. But that, of course all depends.

Scott French is a senior editor for "Soccer America" magazine. He's in our Washington bureau this morning.

Good morning, Scott. Thanks for being here.

SCOTT FRENCH, SENIOR EDITOR, "SOCCER AMERICA" MAGAZINE: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: So what do you think about this? Obviously, this was a huge disappointment to have this announcement come before the World Cup. What about the timing of this?

FRENCH: It's really horrible timing. One of the things that we were all expecting was that the league would wait and see what they could get out of the World Cup, what kind of sponsorship it would bring. And to announce it beforehand, if I'm a CEO, I'm questioning whether I'm going to throw money into the league.

COLLINS: What does it leave, though, in the way of future opportunities for female soccer players? I mean, you know, when we look at these pictures, and we remember these moments, there was all kinds of talk about little girls and getting out on the soccer field and having these role models. And quite a responsibility for those players. But now what?

FRENCH: Well, I think a lot depends on what happens. There's a lot of optimism within the U.S. camp that sponsorship is going to show up. Since Monday, they've been getting a lot of phone calls from interested parties. And it's a matter of, does that interest equate into dollars?

They think that they could come back as early as next year. But I think we'll have a better idea in the next 30 to 45 days.

COLLINS: Can we talk just a minute, Scott, about Mia Hamm? Obviously a lot of people associate her with soccer, no question about it, seems to be kind of the face of women's soccer. Big long article in "Sports Illustrated" about her and the responsibility on her shoulders. What's going on there?

FRENCH: Well, Mia's just an incredible talent, can do things on the field that other players can't. She's also a player who doesn't like the spotlight, doesn't like the attention on her. For her, it's all about team. And she has been thrust into a role where she is the focus. And she has to battle a little bit with that. She does a real good job with being that focus, but she would prefer not to be.

COLLINS: That's a tough job for anybody, I would imagine. Let's talk World Cup real quick. Any chance that this actual event will energize soccer?

FRENCH: I certainly think so. And I hope so. It's -- I think it comes down to, is it compared to 1999? Because this is a very different situation than 1999. They've only had three and a half months to prepare for this World Cup since it was moved from China. The budget is half what it was. There's not quite the advertising or the buzz. But I -- if the United States does well, I think people will get behind it. And that will be a very -- that will energize things.

COLLINS: We have just one second left. Your predictions for a winner?

FRENCH: I'm going with Germany.

COLLINS: Going with Germany. All right, very good. Thanks so much, Scott French coming to us from "Soccer America" magazine in our Washington bureau. Thanks, Scott.

FRENCH: Thank you, Heidi.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 20, 2003 - 09:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That's pretty impressive right there.
Well, this is pretty impressive too, you know. This should have been a banner week for women's soccer, women's professional soccer in this country. It was launched in 1999, when the U.S. women's team won the World Cup. We all remember that.

But the WUSA announced on Monday that it was folding after just three years.

Nevertheless, though, the Women's World Cup kicks off today, 16 nations are competing this year, led by the defending champ U.S. national team. This is the fourth World Cup for women, and there are these four games today. Now, the U.S. team plays Sweden tomorrow.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And actually, the WUSA said it was suspending operations, so there is some hope for reviving women's pro soccer. But that, of course all depends.

Scott French is a senior editor for "Soccer America" magazine. He's in our Washington bureau this morning.

Good morning, Scott. Thanks for being here.

SCOTT FRENCH, SENIOR EDITOR, "SOCCER AMERICA" MAGAZINE: Thank you for having me.

COLLINS: So what do you think about this? Obviously, this was a huge disappointment to have this announcement come before the World Cup. What about the timing of this?

FRENCH: It's really horrible timing. One of the things that we were all expecting was that the league would wait and see what they could get out of the World Cup, what kind of sponsorship it would bring. And to announce it beforehand, if I'm a CEO, I'm questioning whether I'm going to throw money into the league.

COLLINS: What does it leave, though, in the way of future opportunities for female soccer players? I mean, you know, when we look at these pictures, and we remember these moments, there was all kinds of talk about little girls and getting out on the soccer field and having these role models. And quite a responsibility for those players. But now what?

FRENCH: Well, I think a lot depends on what happens. There's a lot of optimism within the U.S. camp that sponsorship is going to show up. Since Monday, they've been getting a lot of phone calls from interested parties. And it's a matter of, does that interest equate into dollars?

They think that they could come back as early as next year. But I think we'll have a better idea in the next 30 to 45 days.

COLLINS: Can we talk just a minute, Scott, about Mia Hamm? Obviously a lot of people associate her with soccer, no question about it, seems to be kind of the face of women's soccer. Big long article in "Sports Illustrated" about her and the responsibility on her shoulders. What's going on there?

FRENCH: Well, Mia's just an incredible talent, can do things on the field that other players can't. She's also a player who doesn't like the spotlight, doesn't like the attention on her. For her, it's all about team. And she has been thrust into a role where she is the focus. And she has to battle a little bit with that. She does a real good job with being that focus, but she would prefer not to be.

COLLINS: That's a tough job for anybody, I would imagine. Let's talk World Cup real quick. Any chance that this actual event will energize soccer?

FRENCH: I certainly think so. And I hope so. It's -- I think it comes down to, is it compared to 1999? Because this is a very different situation than 1999. They've only had three and a half months to prepare for this World Cup since it was moved from China. The budget is half what it was. There's not quite the advertising or the buzz. But I -- if the United States does well, I think people will get behind it. And that will be a very -- that will energize things.

COLLINS: We have just one second left. Your predictions for a winner?

FRENCH: I'm going with Germany.

COLLINS: Going with Germany. All right, very good. Thanks so much, Scott French coming to us from "Soccer America" magazine in our Washington bureau. Thanks, Scott.

FRENCH: Thank you, Heidi.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com