We had all female pilots flying over us in fighter jets. The stadium was packed. That was the moment when I finally let it all sink in and I got absolute chills, says Kansas City Current midfielder Loeau LaBonta on a video call, describing the first game of the season on March 16. I am just a very small piece of this huge picture, but I felt everything in that moment, and I have never been more proud not just of myself but of my teammates, of my organization, of this city and the sport.

That season opener also happened to be the Currents first game at the Canadian Pacific Kansas City arena the first stadium in the world purpose-built for womens professional sports. Two of the four co-owners of both the soccer club and the stadium are women (Brittney Mahomes and Angie Long, both former soccer players).

To say that game was a moment is a vast understatement. Girls, women, theys, and male-presenting allies cheered incessantly for the home team, who scored flamboyantly throughout the game, winning 5-4 against the Portland Thorns who put up a good fight but ultimately could not take the heat of a team playing in their new, custom-built home.

As LaBonta describes, it was major the future is female energy and everyone in the space felt it. This is going to be the reality for all young girls if they want to go pro, LaBonta says. This should be the standard and it will be. Were still fighting for equal pay, but just for them to see that this is a possibility. [I want them to] keep working for it because its going to be even better by the time they get there and thats what were fighting for. And I want them to reap all the benefits of our hard work.