Naomi Girma: The 'Secretary Of Defense' Heads To Chelsea Breaking Records On The Way

Forbes

Not much gets by Naomi Girma. Her American fans call her “Secretary of Defense.” She played every minute of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, taking home the gold with the US. Now she’s a star defender for England's Chelsea F.C. Women’s team. She joined the squad earlier this year in a record-breaking $1.1 million transfer fee, the first time a female soccer player’s fee passed seven figures. Off the pitch, Girma has scored partnerships with Nike, Kaiser Permanente, and Siete Foods, and is a mental health advocate working with Common Goal’s “Create The Space” mental health initiative for athletes. “From when I was a kid watching to now being four years in, I've seen so much growth happening,” Girma said of the surge of women’s sports. “It's really exciting to see where it's going. And now it's on us and our generation to make sure we keep pushing it.”  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  0:00 Introduction 1:59 Naomi On Her Early Love For Soccer And Growing In The Sport 4:56 Naomi Girma On Her Goals An Athlete 8:44 Naomi Girma On The Future Of Women Sports And What She's Excited To See Happen 15:02 How Naomi Girma Is A Leader On/Off The Field  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00I think what's really cool about sports and the women's game and women's soccer is that

00:05it really doesn't matter your age. If you're good, you'll play. If you have something to say,

00:09people will listen.

00:14Hi everyone, we are here with Naomi Gurma, a defender on Chelsea FC and a member of the

00:19U.S. Women's National Team. Thank you so much for joining me today.

00:22Of course, thanks for having me.

00:23So you have had a big move in the past couple of weeks. In January, you were signed to Chelsea.

00:29You moved to London. How has it been so far?

00:32It's been great so far. Like you said, it's a big move for me coming from California, but

00:38it's been great. I feel like I've been welcomed with open arms and it's been so exciting to be here.

00:44Was playing in the European League something that you thought about for a long time? Was this an

00:49unexpected move for you? What was the mindset behind it?

00:51I think I always knew I would want to come at some point. It was just waiting for the right

00:56opportunity and waiting for the right club. And I feel like Chelsea is that for me.

01:01That's super exciting. We'll talk about all you are, you know, kind of doing with Chelsea,

01:06the movement behind women's sports and how that's kind of pulled you here with your transfer fee

01:11that kind of made a lot of news. But before we get into those sorts of things, I want to know

01:15a little bit more about you as like a human. Can you tell me a little bit more about yourself

01:20growing up kind of finding a love for soccer? Yeah, I grew up in San Jose, California, and I

01:27started playing soccer pretty young, like probably like three or four years old. And my older brother

01:32and my dad both loved it. So I was immediately thrown in and I fell in love with it too. It was

01:39always just something I enjoyed doing, something I was good at. And I just loved being around my

01:45teammates and competing together. And a lot of young kids, especially across America, are thrown

01:50into sports when they are younger. But when did you realize that this is something that wasn't just

01:54a hobby like it is for so many people, but something that you could really build a career out of?

01:59I realized that pretty late, to be honest. I've played a lot of different sports growing up.

02:04I knew soccer was my favorite pretty early. And I knew that if I had to pick one, it would be soccer.

02:09So I think probably around middle school is when I started focusing only on that and kind of let

02:16all the other sports fall away. But I think going into college and playing against different schools

02:21and like comparing myself to a lot of players across the country is when I realized like, oh,

02:26like I could go far on this. And I think just having the right people around me, supporting me made

02:31a big difference and helped me realize that this is something I want to do. Yeah. How do you balance

02:36your love for, which I'm sure you still have, but also knowing that it's something that now is

02:40your livelihood? And I think that that's for creatives, for athletes, like it's kind of a

02:44hard transition sometimes to realize that this isn't just something for fun anymore. How has that

02:48been in your experience? I kind of just tell myself it's still for fun. Yeah. And that normally helps

02:54me when I'm like, I feel like I'm under a lot of pressure or anything like that. I think a lot of

02:59times you just have to remember why you first started playing and you remember why you fell in love with

03:04the game and that's what keeps you going. So yeah, I think it can be a hard balance, but I just try to

03:09keep having fun while I'm doing it. Yeah, definitely. Looking back at the Naomi that was starting to play

03:14soccer at, you know, like age four, realizing in middle school that you were good, would she have

03:18ever expected you to be where you are today? No, absolutely not. What were your thoughts when you

03:24were younger in terms of like future goals? Did you have other career goals besides soccer or what was

03:30your kind of vision for who you might turn into? I don't know. I think I just always had college on

03:37my mind. Education has been a really big part of my childhood and something my parents always put a

03:41huge focus on. So I was really passionate in school as well. So I knew I wanted to go to college. I knew

03:47or I hoped in college I would figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I wasn't someone who had

03:52like that dream job, like from a really young age. But yeah, so I think like college was like the goal

03:59and then go on from there. And I feel really lucky to have found soccer and have found something that

04:05I love and I'm also good at. Yeah, definitely. I think about that all the time. And I feel like

04:08growing up too, like my high school graduation was always like the future date. And then I'm like,

04:12I don't know. I'll figure it out then. Exactly. So why did you decide on Stanford? What made that

04:17soccer program and the school something that you were interested in? I think Stanford is just

04:23amazing. And I honestly just remember the first time I went on campus and I was like, oh, it's

04:27beautiful. I want to go here. But beyond that, just the coaches, they recruited me in high school.

04:33And just knowing like that culture of excellence that it has, it was just something I wanted to be

04:37a part of. And I think looking back, I didn't know that much when I made that decision. But I'm so

04:44grateful that it worked out that way. And I think the people I met there, like lessons I learned,

04:50so many things that I took away from Stanford are things that like are just, they've just had such

04:56a huge impact on me. Yeah, totally. What are some of those examples of things that you kind of carry

04:59with you today? I mean, lots of classes. I don't know if I'm using that every day, but I did. But it's

05:06back there somewhere. It's in there. Just like relationships, friendships with professors,

05:12mentors, teammates, friends, classmates, like so many people that have touched my life in different

05:16ways. And a lot of people that I'm still connected to now. And I think it's nice, like pretty much

05:22anywhere I go to travel, like there's someone that I went to school with living there. So I just love

05:27that we have that community still. And it's something I can always rely on. Yeah. You were then drafted

05:32number one in the NWSL draft. What was that experience like? I was very excited. I was remote because of

05:41COVID. So I was actually in London with my friends. Okay. Full circle. Yeah. And it was a really cool

05:48moment. I think like for me and for my family, I just remember my parents being like, I can't believe

05:53you come this far. And I think it's like one of those moments where you stop and realize like, this

05:58is really cool. And I'm proud of all the work I've put in to get here. And my family too, I think they

06:03just felt like, wow, like I can't believe like this turned into this now. So it was a really exciting

06:09moment for me. And I think to go to San Diego and start my pro career was like a great spot for me.

06:15Yeah. I would love to talk about that a little bit. Being a California girl. Yeah. And through

06:19growing up there, going to school there, and then ultimately being drafted there. What was the

06:23experience like? How would you describe like the culture of San Diego Wave and just kind of the

06:27player that you became over the years that you were playing there? I mean, I'm so grateful to have

06:31ended up there. Like you said, I'm a California girl. So I was very happy to be staying in the state.

06:35And San Diego was great. It was an expansion team the year I joined. So there was a lot of

06:41transition, not just for me, but for the whole organization. So I think we kind of just took it

06:46on stride. And even though we were a team in transition, we had a lot of veteran players

06:51who I could look up to and who really guided me throughout that first year and honestly,

06:56second and third year too. So I think having them there helped me like see what it's like to be a

07:02true professional and like what kind of player I wanted to be both on and off the field. So I

07:07learned a lot there. And yeah, I think similar to Stanford, I take away so many great relationships

07:12leaving too. You mentioned that you kind of realized how to be a professional as opposed to,

07:17you know, like you said before, like you were in a lot of ways recreational, even though it was kind

07:21of becoming your career. Yeah. How have you changed as a professional athlete versus a collegiate athlete

07:26as a, you know, amateur athlete before that? I think the attention to detail at the pro level is so

07:31different. And I think that it's in film and recovery and everything that you're doing. There's

07:36just a lot more attention to detail. And I think the earlier you can figure out what works best for

07:41you and how you want to take on all of those things, the better. And I think realizing that I

07:46needed to like hone in on that early on really helped me. Yeah, definitely. You recently, like we

07:52have been talking about, moved to London to come play for Chelsea. This, like the expansion team,

07:58I think is a really huge indication of the growth of women's sports. You had a $1.1 million transfer

08:05fee to come over here, which was record breaking. And I know that you're not in it for the money,

08:09but I think it does speak a lot to the value that people are putting behind female athletes today.

08:14How do you see the growing space of, you know, women's sports? I feel like so much has changed over

08:19the past couple of years. What's it looked like from your perspective? I think it's grown so much. I think

08:23even from when I was a kid watching to now being a part of it and then now being four years in, I think

08:29I've seen so much growth happening. And I think it's really exciting to see where it's going. And yeah, I think

08:35now it's like on us and our generation to make sure we keep pushing it. But yeah, it's an exciting time. And I think

08:41like a very, I'm grateful to be a part of the game at this point. Yeah, definitely. Do you have any expectations for what

08:46you think the field will look like in the future? Things that you kind of see coming up right now that

08:51you're excited to continue building within the women's sports space?

08:56That's a good question. I think, like, I would hope that we see it growing, but I think it is growing a

09:04lot in like specific areas, specific countries. Yeah, hopefully that becomes more widespread. And

09:08there's more of like a standard that can be held across all leagues and all countries and all

09:15international teams and everything so that everyone's getting that same treatment and is

09:18being treated like a true professional like they should be. Yeah, 100%. So since you have

09:23become part of the Chelsea squad, I want to know a little bit about how the transition has been for

09:29you. Like you're talking about, the sports world is very different depending on like the region you're

09:33in, the demographic that you're talking to. What have been some of the biggest differences since

09:37moving here that you've noticed? I'll just go like culturally. Yeah, I mean, there are so many

09:42changes. Yeah, there are so many changes. I think when you move countries, it's obviously the same

09:46language, but I think there are like some words in there where I'm like, what? What does that mean?

09:49Like, I've never heard that. We have a lot of different terminology, but it's been great. I think

09:55the staff and players at Chelsea have made the transition feel really smooth for me. And I think

10:01stepping into a culture where you can feel that people care about each other and just genuinely want

10:06the best for each other and want to win is something that always feels good. Yeah, you are known as a

10:11secretary of defense, at least in the U.S. I don't know if they call you that here, but I want to know

10:18about building this like name for yourself. Obviously, a lot of hard work on the soccer field comes into

10:25play, but also a lot of just like brand awareness, being in front of people, you know, either partnering

10:30with other brands or just being known with your fans. How have you gone about creating a personal

10:35brand for yourself as you've built your career in soccer? It's been pretty natural. Honestly, I think

10:40coming into it, that wasn't something I really thought about, but I think as you start playing

10:46and you play with the U.S., like it becomes more of a thing that you need to be aware of. And I think

10:51one thing that I've tried to do is when partnering with brands, if there's ever an opportunity for

10:56community outreach or a way to give back, like I try to be intentional about that. And I think

11:01brands do a good job of coming to us and being like, what are you passionate about? What do you want to

11:04focus on? And I think trying to do as many things that can also like serve the community and like

11:12help me use my platform for things I want to talk about is a way I try to go about it. Yeah. And

11:17it's probably more authentic to you too. Yeah. A hundred percent. It's a partnership that makes

11:20sense and aligns on both ways. Yeah. You recently partnered with Nike or you've been a partner of

11:24Nike's for, you know, multiple different kinds of versions, campaigns, things like that. What has that

11:29partnership looked like? Well, they have great cleats. So I appreciate that. But yeah, I think Nike has

11:38always been a leader in all of sports, but women's sports too. And the way they support their athletes

11:45is something that I wanted to be a part of. And I think most recently being a part of their United

11:51Pack, which features six women's soccer players globally, is something that is really cool. And I think

11:58just shows how much they're investing in the women's game and want the women's game to continue

12:03to grow and move forward. So I think being a part of a brand that aligns in that way is really

12:09meaningful to me. And another big thing that you focus on is mental health in the athletic space,

12:14especially with your work with Common Goal. Can you tell me a little bit more about what you are

12:18doing with them and kind of how you're pushing this forward? So I've been working with Common Goal for

12:22a few years and we launched a project called Create the Space, pretty much circling around mental

12:27health and soccer. And I think I had seen a lot of things where people were talking about mental

12:31health, but I wanted to start something that was like action driven and could really have an impact.

12:37And what we do is pretty much try to bring different mental health like skills and tools to use coaches

12:44so that they can then teach the kids that they're coaching. And I think the thought behind that is

12:50like as a kid, you spend so much of your time with your coach growing up. And if they can have a

12:54positive impact and be another support for a kid, it can really change someone's life.

12:59And there's some toxic coaches out there as a former athlete myself, I know. So I totally understand

13:05how important that is from the youth level up. In terms of connecting with these young audiences,

13:10so much about the rise in women's sports right now is about getting young girls to see that there

13:15is a place for them in athletics. Can you walk me through kind of what your relationship has been

13:19like with your fans, how you're kind of pushing this forward as well, that this is like we have,

13:24we've been talking about like a career you can build, not just a hobby that a girl should have.

13:27Yeah, I think a lot of that has happened naturally just with viewership and platforms that women's

13:32sports are now being shown on. And I think we all try to engage with our fans after games,

13:38like taking photos, signing autographs and different things. It's always so exciting to see them. But

13:42yeah, I think like, for me, I just try to share my story as much as I can just to show like,

13:48it doesn't matter your background, or if you've always wanted to do this, or wherever you started,

13:52like you can always make it there if you work hard and are determined. And yeah, just stick with it.

13:58So yeah, I think that's my way of trying to show like little girls, like, even if you know,

14:04your parents can't put you on the best club team, like you can still make it far and you can still make

14:09the best of what you have. Right. And as you are now a mentor in a lot of ways to a lot of young girls

14:15coming up and a lot of young players coming up, you have also played with some soccer like legends

14:19and coached by soccer legends. Is there anyone in your career that you feel like you would not be here

14:24today without them? Oh, yes. Well, minus my family. I had a club coach, Bob Joyce, who, like,

14:36was the first coach who was like, you're really good and encouraged me to try out for like ODP,

14:42which is Olympic Development Program in Northern California. And that kind of like started my whole

14:47path of going to youth national team camps and getting recruited to Stanford and then national

14:53team and everything from there. So I think just having that push at the start and being like,

14:57no, you're actually good. Like you should do this was something that changed my life.

15:01How do you describe yourself as a leader in this space today, both on the field and off?

15:07I think in the space, I try to lead by example with what I'm doing, what I'm talking about.

15:14Yeah, like I think in the way I play too, I try to lead by example and use my voice and my platform

15:22when I can too. For other young people out there who are looking to, you know, build businesses,

15:28since this is Forbes, a lot of our audience is aspiring to build businesses, be leaders in their

15:32own industries or their own careers, or just be innovative in some way. Like, you know, you've

15:36taken on these different projects, you've started using, like you've been talking about your voice to

15:40speak to what you care about. What's your best piece of advice for other people out there looking

15:45to make a difference and turn, you know, a career into something that can be, you know, for good?

15:49I would say put people first. I learned that, I mean, that was a theme throughout most of my

15:55business classes in school, and it was funny to see how much it rang true to me when I was trying

16:01to do things with soccer, with mental halls, or whatever it was. And I think just when you have

16:06that group of people around you who you feel like you're aligned with and you share values with,

16:11it can be really fun and more impactful when you're trying to build something together.

16:16My last question for you, since we are talking about the third under 30 list here,

16:21being youthful is obviously a huge part of sports, but in life, there's a lot of different thoughts

16:26about what it means to be young and leading industries. How do you see youth playing into

16:31your career today? Yeah, I think being young in this space, I guess it's helped me because I've

16:38been able to see a lot and learn a lot from other people. And I think when you have that youthful outlook,

16:43it can help you just soak things in because you don't feel like you know what's right or the way

16:47things should go. So I think it's helped me in that way. But I think what's really cool about sports

16:52and the women's game and women's soccer is that it really doesn't matter your age.

16:58And that's true both on the field and off the field. If you're good, you'll play. If you have

17:02something to say, people will listen. So yeah, I think it's helped me. And then also, in the same

17:09way, I feel like it's just been about like who I am and what I want to do with it. Yeah, I love that.

17:16Well, thank you so much for joining us today. It was awesome to hear all about your very exciting

17:20career. And I cannot wait to see what's next for you. Thank you.

Category

Transcript

Recommended