In 2008, Star Wright discovered the opportunity to play women’s tackle football shortly after her son began playing flag football. More than a decade later, Wright is one of the most impactful women in the sport, supporting football’s growth in her beloved Philadelphia and overseas.    

“I started playing around when my son first started in 2008, so we started football together,” Wright recalled. “He started playing flag football. Being an athlete all my life, I was a mom that never sat down. I was just running up and down the field and wanted to be a part of his journey. One of the coaches said, ‘Why don't you play football for the women's team here in Philly?’ I didn't know there was a women's team in Philly at the time, and he said tryouts were the next day. I loved football, I was a football fan, but I had never played. I gave it a shot, went to tryouts the next day and I’ve been playing ever since.” 

Wright’s passion for football eventually led to her winning a gold medal as part of the 2017 U.S. Women's Tackle National Team in the IFAF Women's World Championship, founding the Philadelphia Phantomz in the Women’s National Football Conference and founding The Star Wright Foundation.  

As a linebacker on the U.S. Women's Tackle National Team, Wright and her teammates, which included current NFL coaches Angela Baker and Callie Brownson, defeated Canada 41-16 in the World Championship finals hosted at McLeod Stadium in Langley, British Columbia, Canada.  

“My favorite experience was being a part of a gold medal team,” Wright said. “Once we got the gold medals around our necks, we realized, ‘Wow! We’re the best in the world.’ That moment trumped all the others, but there were a lot of other great moments. There were plenty of bonding and learning opportunities. It’s really good to bring women’s tackle football players from all across the country, the elite of the elite, together. We learned from each other and talked a ton about football. I think just interacting with the women was a really great experience.”  

Wright still makes an international impact in the football world through her foundation, which focuses on community growth domestically and in Africa.  

“My obsession with football and my obsession with Africa inspired me to start The Star Wright Foundation. I wanted to connect the two and create some positive change,” Wright said. “My foundation has different initiatives, and the one that takes me to Africa is called Access to Play. I also do things in my own community like combating gun violence and teaching girls entrepreneurship.”  

Through Access to Play, The Star Wright Foundation has held 15 football camps in Morocco, had 5,000 kids participate in the program’s first camp in Ghana, held the first African Flag Female Tournament in Cairo, Egypt and donated more than 250 football helmets, shoulder pads and other equipment to tackle teams in Morocco.  

“As an African American woman, I realized that the continent doesn't get the opportunities that it should. They have some great athletes. Wanting to share the sport I love with them is what drew me to providing opportunities to play football in Africa,” Wright explained. “I started camps just to gauge the interest of the kids and the athletes. I realized that they wanted to learn the sport and that some countries in Africa already had developed leagues for American football. From that point on, I’ve wanted to help grow the sport on the continent. 

“I think the problem is the fact that there's no access to American football in Africa, and that's what I'm trying to provide.” 

Wright first visited Africa a solo traveler to learn about local cultures and build connections. Afterward, she began bringing over NFL players, coaches, referees and other women who play football. While her foundation’s work still centers around providing access to football, Wright admits it has grown beyond that initial focus. The foundation now provides access to basketball, boxing and other sports, and some of Wright’s guests include stretching specialist and people with backgrounds in health and beauty.  

Preparing for camps and visits to Africa isn’t easy work. Wright and her team dedicate significant amounts of time to preparing for events.  

“Setting up for camps involves months of Zoom calls,” Wright explained. “We make sure logistically we're following the rules and the laws of different countries. We also make sure the facilities are up to par and address them if they aren’t. For instance, there are a lack of turf fields for American football in Ghana, so that's one of the things that's on my list to help them get. Hopefully we’ll have at least a couple centralized turf fields for this newly developed sport that is booming. Everyone wants to be a part of it.” 

Africa is far from new to the American football landscape. There are already established leagues in several countries, and the sport is continuing to build momentum. The biggest hurdle Wright sees for football’s growth in Africa is the lack of equipment.  

“There are already developed leagues in the Northern African countries,” Wright explained. “Morocco has a great American football league. Egypt has some of the most talented American football players I've seen. Nigeria and even parts of West Africa have football leagues, and I’m talking about tackle and flag. The problem with tackle football is the lack of equipment. There is no manufacturer on the continent that manufactures American football equipment. Every time I go to Africa, I take bags and bags of equipment with me. I'll have just a book bag for myself, and all my checked bags are for football, helmets, shoulder pads, gloves, mouthpieces, cleats and anything that I think that they could use that they don't have access to. 

“I've donated a lot of equipment, especially to Morocco. When I first connected with people in Morocco, they were so interested in tackle football, but they were sharing equipment amongst the teams and renting it out to each other. I wanted to see how I could change that.” 

Wright hopes that time, awareness and exposure will educate people on football’s popularity in Africa. The sports already has roots in several countries, but the game’s infrastructure is still developing. Fortunately, Wright and her foundation are helping where they can to provide playing opportunities and enhance the experience.  

“Even in Kenya, Ghana and Ivory Coast, there are so many different leagues for American football, and you wouldn't realize it unless you went to see it yourself because nobody broadcasts it over here in America,” Wright explained. “When I do advertising and social media posts, I get a lot of messages and questions asking how people can donate and get involved. It takes time. I've been doing this for about five years now. Every year we are getting bigger and better and helping with the operational sides of leagues as well.” 

The future of football is international, and the sport’s role as a local and global community building block will continue to become more evident as dedicated volunteers like Wright expand the game’s horizons.