SOCCER TEAM'S SUCCESS A TRIBUTE TO TITLE IX; GENDER GAP CLOSING IN SPORTS WORLD.

Byline: Barbara Boxer 

ON Saturday, the finals of the 1999 Women's World Cup will be held in Pasadena, culminating an exciting month of competition among the world's best women's soccer teams.

Held every four years since 1991, the Women's World Cup brings together the finest women athletes and allows them to compete at the highest level. It is so wonderful that young women have these role models to look up to - including California's charismatic Julie Foudy, working mother Joy Fawcett, Tiffany Roberts and veteran superstar Michelle Akers.

The United States team is led by Mia Hamm, the best women's soccer player of all time, who has scored more international goals than any other person - man or woman - in the history of the game.

It is perfectly fitting that Hamm was born in 1972, the same year that President Nixon signed into law Title IX of the Education Amendments Act. Title IX states that colleges receiving federal funds must provide equal athletic opportunities for women and men. Twenty-five years later, the U.S. National Team is one clear sign that this law is a success.

But the real success can be measured this way: Since Title IX was enacted, the number of girls who participate in high school athletics has risen from 300,000 to 2.37 million. Thirty-seven percent of all college athletes are women, as were 39 percent of the members of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team.

The record-breaking crowds for the Women's World Cup demonstrate that fans share the players' enthusiasm for women's soccer. Over 78,000 people packed Giants Stadium on June 19 for the USA's opening match against Denmark, and the crowds have been coming ever since. Total ticket sales for the Cup to date are near the 1 million mark, shattering the world record for a sporting event held for women.

The World Cup's smashing success speaks volumes for the future of women's sports, and it will hasten the day that women's sports are on parity with men's. We now know that there are thousands of fans in major markets such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Chicago who are ready, willing and eager to support women's soccer. Female soccer players may not have to wait much longer to play professionally in the United States.

The impact of gender equality in sports extends far beyond the playing field. Female student-athletes are more likely to graduate from college than students who do not participate in sports. Women who are active in sports and recreational activities as girls feel greater confidence, self-esteem and pride in their physical and social selves. And 80 percent of women identified as key leaders in Fortune 500 companies have participated in organized sports.

Based on what we have seen, I will make two predictions. First, the United States team will reclaim its title as Women's World Cup champions. My second prediction is that, for many years to come, American women and girls will continue to thrive because of Title IX.

We must resist efforts to weaken or grant exemptions to Title IX so that this landmark legislation will continue to benefit our granddaughters and their daughters and the millions of fans who will watch women play to win.

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Photo: Forward Mia Hamm leads the U.S. soccer team in revolutionizing sports.

Ezra Shaw/ALLSPORT