Angel City FC kicks off Wikipedia edit-a-thon event in LA

The GIST: Last Saturday, Angel City FC, the Los Angeles Public Library, and Wikipedians in the LA area hosted a one-day Wikipedia edit-a-thon in celebration of Women’s History Month. The at-capacity event allowed local residents to contribute their Angel City knowledge to the world’s largest, community-driven encyclopedia. Very on-brand.

The details: The edit-a-thon focused on creating new Wikipedia entries and improving existing ones on women and nonbinary soccer athletes, teams, and coaches. Wiki articles on these topics suffer serious editorial shortcomings and are often sparse, inaccurate, or outdated — if they even exist at all. According to the club, only 19.77% of Wiki biographies are of women.

• Participants spent the time devoting their expertise to filling particular knowledge gaps on the platform, such as information on Angel City defender Croix Soto and drafts for pages on defenders Madelyn Desiano and Jyllissa Harris.

The precedent: In 2017, the group Feminism in India hosted an edit-a-thon called Indian Women in Sport, where articles were created and edited on Indian women athletes with no or very little representation. Event organizers referenced a 2011 study that found only 9% of Wikipedia editors were women, a percentage that drops to just 3% in India. Had it up to here.

The tech trend: The NWSL keeps leveraging tech to improve the fan experience, but Angel FC is going above and beyond. The club boasts partnerships with Justworks and Mindera, and Alyssa and Gisele Thompson represent tech-powered soccer brand Toca. By working with Wikipedia, Angel City gives knowledgeable fans the tools to inform online audiences.

Zooming out: In the artificial intelligence era, this edit-a-thon further proved a need for community knowledge especially as historical accounts and sports biographies still skew heavily male. Before AI can mine online data, content needs to be there in the first place — including increased, career-long coverage of women athletes.