Amandine Henry Barbie Doll

Barbie dolls in their line Barbie Role Models, a line dedicated to building female models in an effort to close the so-called “dream gap”, a moment in the lives of girls when, due to social pressure, they begin to doubt that they are capable to be what they set out to be.

A few days before the commemoration of International Women's Day, the American toy company Barbie launched a series of sports-inspired dolls that celebrate female role models.

The launch of the company is part of the Sheroes initiative, which pays tribute to outstanding women in different fields and the Dream Gap Project. Barbie's Dream Gap, explained by the company as a gap that exists between girls and their potential in fields that have traditionally been occupied by men, and the company seeks to share stories of women from different occupations to encourage I encourage the girls of the world to be whatever they want to be.

Tokyo 2020 and Barbie honored great athletes: the Turkish swimmer Sümeyye Boyacı, the French soccer player Amandine Henry, the Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, the British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, the Portuguese surfer Teresa Bonvalot and the German jumper Malaika Mohambo. Barbie made a figure dedicated to each of them because of her power to inspire girls, women and people in general to reach their maximum potential in the sporting field.

The football history of the 30-year-old French midfielder begins in 1995 when she played five seasons with OSM Lomme. From 2000 to 2004, he moved to the Lambersart Club; both amateur category. At the age of 15 she made the big leap to professionalism, when the Football Club Féminin Hénin-Beaumont signed her. After one season, she joined the ranks of the CNFE Clairefontaine Academy, where she spent two seasons. In 2007, Olympique de Lyon acquired her services; Shortly afterward she had a knee injury that kept her away from the field for a year and a half. However, she did not give up and after the injury she came back stronger and with the club she had nine seasons of glory.

Her next stage was one of many changes and few matches played, as she embarked on a new course away from France. She traveled to the United States to be part of the Portland Thorns team, in which she only played nine games and a new injury became present. After the surgery and her respective recovery, she returned to France and signed briefly with PSG, and before the end of 2017 she returned to the Portland Thorns. That season in the United States she was a fundamental piece for her team, in addition to being key in matches against important teams such as the Orlando Pride or the Houston Dash. With the Portland Thorns she won a NWSL Shield title, an award given to the squad that has had the best regular season. And in 2018 she returned to where it all began: Olympique de Lyon.