Arianna Criscione, Goalkeeper and Marketing Exec for PSG, First Footballer/Soccer Player to Join EcoAthletes Champions Roster
Arianna Criscione is unique among professional athletes: The California native is both a professional goalkeeper for Paris powerhouse PSG and the sponsorship manager for the women’s team.
Arianna Criscione makes the save for PSG versus Roma (Photo credit: PSG)
The defining characteristic of Criscione’s 13-year professional career has been resilience. The BC Grad has played with clubs in five countries (two clubs each in Sweden and France), sometimes dealing with an anti-foreigner bias. A bigger challenge was coming back from shattering her knee — tearing the ACL, MCL and PCL. Criscione had to learn how to walk again, then run…and somehow now she finds herself back on the pitch with PSG.
That’s resilience.
Over time, Criscione has become concerned with the resilience of our environment.
At first, her concern — and ire — were focused on plastic waste. “When I got to Italy, I was astonished how much trash there was there — it was all over the place,” recalled Criscione. “It’s the same thing at PSG. I mean, plastic bottles are everywhere. It drives me bonkers!
In addition to playing goalkeeper, Arianna Criscione also helps bring in new partners for PSG’s women’s team (Photo credit: Arianna Criscione)
She believes she can help solve the plastic problem at PSG by signing a green sponsor for the women’s team. Criscione said that, “An environmentally-focused brand will help show players and fans that going green is not difficult, will have positive impacts at the training center and the stadium, and will make a PSG women’s game a better experience for all.”
Criscione decided to join the roster of EcoAthletes Champions because she realizes that athletes also need to engage on global environmental crises like climate change.
“Athletes have a powerful platform that we can use for social good, but we haven’t engaged much on climate change yet,” Criscione acknowledged. “I think acting on climate has been a slow process for many cultures and countries. I joined EcoAthletes to learn so I can do what I can to help pick up the pace on climate. It is really important to get athletes and our fans to talk about climate. Then action, even if it’s slow at first, will happen.”
“Arianna told me that she loves to try to stop penalty kicks,” recalled Lew Blaustein, EcoAthletes’ founder. “She knows the odds are against her, but she believes her skill, experience and intensity will give her an edge. Those qualities will serve her well in the climate fight and that is why we are excited to work with her as our first footballing EcoAthletes Champion!”