Take 2: Bryana Gold
“I can’t imagine my life without football. It’s in everything I do.”
Bryana Gold’s love of the beautiful game has taken her all the way from Atlanta to London. However, her first experience with the sport would likely have turned most people off.
4-year-old Gold found herself in line to make a wall in her first soccer game. An opposing player kicked the ball. It sailed through the air… and right into Gold’s nose. Most kids would have been absolutely miserable, but she was hooked on the beautiful game.
“I was so happy to just be out there,” Gold recalls. She credits her mentors and coaches, namely coach Iggy Moleka, as being the reason she wanted to train every day.
Gold grew up watching Barcelona. Her favorite player was Ronaldinho, whose pure joy on the pitch inspired her.
In high school, she found another favorite player: Thierry Henry. “He had this aura, this influence.” He was part of Arsenal at the time, which led Gold to become a well-documented fan of the Gunners.
Young Bryana enjoying the beautiful game
College ended up being difficult for Gold. “There’s a lot of things I think I would have done differently, in terms of the whole college recruitment process and everything.”
She committed to Villanova University when she was 15 years old because of their heavy interest, generous scholarships, and strong academics. Committing so early meant that by the time Gold got to Villanova in her late teens she had “different priorities” than when she was 15.
In addition to the school not being a great fit, Gold also found it hard transitioning from high school, where she played consistently, to not playing as often in college. “If I would have had more resources and knew the right people to talk to, it would have made an impact.”
Because of these factors, Gold decided to transfer to Auburn University. She soon found that she was in an even worse place mentally than she was before. There were some “very dark moments” from a sporting perspective that made it difficult for her to stay positive. “[It had] a massive toll on me, mentally…my confidence was shot.”
Gold decided to move on from Auburn and transfer one final time to George Washington University in Washington, DC. She had family there, which made the transition easier. The school also attracted Gold because of its well-known journalism program, something she was interested in pursuing if soccer didn’t work out.
Why journalism? According to Gold, it was the most natural fit for her passion for inspiring others via sport.
“My whole life was football. I sacrificed so much. I was training every day. I worked so hard. I had such high hopes, I think, going into university to play at Division I level, and it just did not work out how I’d hoped at all. It was probably one of the most difficult things for me. So I was like, ‘okay, if I go into this field, at least I can be around people that still really love the game and hopefully be a voice and make an impact on people.’”
Gold decided to study abroad in England while at George Washington. This gave her the ability to not only broaden her horizons academically, but soccer-wise too. She secured trials with a few teams, most notably Arsenal. Before her first training, she weighed skipping the session entirely, citing a lack of confidence in herself. What happened next seems like it belongs in a sports movie:
“When I had my first session with Arsenal, I almost didn’t go. I had such a difficult experience playing Division I that the day that I had this first session I was like, ‘I’m not good enough anymore. I’m not sure if it’s worth it.’
I remember, I left it so late to go to the training grounds. It was in London Colney, which was far away from where I was living. I was speaking to my dad, he was like ‘just go.’
I was like, ‘okay, I’ll try and get an Uber to go to training.’ No Uber in London would accept my request… I was in the street and a black cab picked me up.
I got in the cab and [the cab driver] was like, ‘where are you going?’ And I told him. And he was like, ‘that’s a bit far. I can’t take you all the way there, but I can take you to the train station, which you can get a straight shot there.’
When we were in the cab, he was talking to me [about where she was going.] I was like, ‘I don’t know, I’m a bit scared to go, I’m hesitant, my confidence…’
He was like, ‘I have a daughter who used to be a ballerina. Her body will not allow her to do something she loves anymore. As long as you’re physically able to do something you love, do it.’
I don’t know what it was, but there’s a reason I got in that cab that day. He took me to the train station. I was an hour late [to training.] But I was very free. I played quite well that day.”
Gold notes that this story demonstrates the importance of the mental game in sports. Without that cab driver, she would have never been able to play with her favorite club.
Gold’s trial with Arsenal was successful, earning her a contract with the team. However, she couldn’t sign due to visa purposes. After graduation she came back to Arsenal, but was unable to sign for a second time due to visa issues.
Despite the logistics not working out, Gold enjoyed her time with Arsenal. Training with the team, she says, “made me fall in love with the club even more.”
Gold playing for Arsenal
While her playing career had come to an end, she found a unique way to stay connected to the sport: as a sports model. Gold has modeled for several projects and was even featured in Wired magazine. Her most memorable modeling project connected her past with her present:
she got to model the Arsenal x Stella McCartney away kit for its September 2023 launch.
In addition to modeling, Gold works full-time as a social media producer for ESPN in London. Her background as a player informs everything she works on with the network.
“[Having playing experience] makes me very appreciative of athletes and what they have to go through. Knowing how to talk to athletes in a different way from my experience. Understanding, ‘okay, they’ve had a really tough game. How do you ask a question in a way that’s not gonna piss them off?’ It translates.”
Gold interviewing Manchester City forward Khadija “Bunny” Shaw in April 2024.
She notes that working in sports, especially in England, is challenging as a woman of color. Her experiences have been rewarding, but it comes with having to constantly be “proving yourself that you know football, you know it just as much as the other guys.”
Gold wants to use her platform as a woman of color to inspire others and show them football is for everyone. “Football, in a way, is so beautiful in that it unites people from all backgrounds and races and colors… football is essentially society. Things that are going on in the world, it shows up in football.”
When SoccerHead co-founder Gilda Doria approached her with an offer to play for SoccerHead FC, Gold gladly accepted. They had played together in the Atlanta youth soccer scene, and Gold was excited to reconnect. More importantly, SoccerHead’s mission of empowering players with the resources they need to succeed resonated with Gold, who notes she would have benefitted from them as a young player.
“The opportunity to play again, to feel a part of something, to feel like I’m working toward something again, I feel so happy to be training towards something again. It’s a great feeling!”
Gold is not taking anything for granted in her Take 2. Everything is brand new. “To feel like I’m a part of a team, even being a part of a group chat again…that’s such a great feeling. Like you’re part of something greater than you.”
The midfielder recognizes the unique honor she has as a part of the inaugural TST Women’s Tournament. “Football was banned for women at one point. If you see how far the game has come for women, it is a beautiful thing. I think I’m a part of that. I feel like so many of us, the whole SoccerHead team, we’re part of that.”
Being given the privilege to play again in the women’s tournament also comes with a platform. Gold is excited to use it to improve the women’s game and the TST tournament as a whole. “It takes us to make that space. The space has to be created, and [the way] has to continue to be paved.”
