[ad_1]
Argentine soccer players, fans, and referees will seek to step out of the shadow of Lionel Messi and the world champion men’s team when they take to the field at the Women’s World Cup Finals in Australia and New Zealand this month.
Argentina, where soccer is almost a religion and where fans tattoo images of Messi or late idol Diego Maradona, is getting warmer in the women’s game, which has grown rapidly since turning professional in 2019.
Despite not being favored to win, Argentina’s women are hoping to generate a similar wave of excitement to the one that greeted the men’s title win last December and turned players like Estefania Panini, Yamila Rodriguez and Lorena Oliveros into household names.
“The only difference is the gender, but we do the same,” said Boca Juniors goalkeeper Oliveros, who will travel to the World Cup but will not play due to injury.
Oliveros said that she and other players want the same respect and working conditions as male players, but also carve out their own space within the sport.
“We have our own style of play, our own dynamic,” said Oliveros. “We understand the game differently and we want to play it differently.”
The ninth Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on July 20, is expected to attract the largest television audience in the history of women’s soccer, and FIFA will pay $30,000 directly to each participating player.
Players, fans and referees are becoming more popular than ever, achieving greater exposure on television networks and drawing larger crowds, even managing – sometimes – playing in the same courts as the men.
Laura Fortunato, a 38-year-old Argentine referee who is among six Latin American women to have officiated at the World Cup, noted that there were just 10 referees in Argentina when the whistle first blew, compared to 50 now.
In its early days, having a woman referee came as a shock to the players.
“From how it was when I just started now, I’ve progressed by leaps and bounds,” Fortunato said.
“Before, you would arrive on the pitch and they were looking to see where the referee would come from, and I said to them, ‘Hey, here I am.’”
In Argentina, the big local teams do not always open their stadiums for women’s football matches, which are played in smaller venues.
However, fans say more and more women are coming out to places like the 54,000-capacity La Bombonera house in Boca to cheer in spaces that have traditionally been all-male.
You feel like you’re on an equal footing (with men), you’re another fan,” said Martina Borgatelo, a 31-year-old Boca fan. Jacinta Dandris, a Boca fan and feminist, said women have always followed football but are now gaining more appreciation.
“Let’s hope that one day we women will be as much in control of the stands, the sport and the decisions as the men,” Dandrez said.
The gender pay gap
Despite the progress, there are still many differences between men’s and women’s sports in Argentina, especially when it comes to finances.
Oliveros, 29, said the gender pay gap remains huge, though it is narrowing.
“Little by little it is getting better. Year after year, the salaries are getting better, the clubs are contributing a little bit more, but we are a long way away,” Oliveros said.
The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) is aware of the disparity between men’s and women’s football and recently said it was taking steps to reduce it.
“Confederation of South American Football has addressed the financial imbalance between women’s and men’s football by setting up competitions, investing in infrastructure, finding sponsors and commercial agreements, as well as promoting women’s national teams,” the organization said.
With Argentina qualifying for their fourth Women’s World Cup, fans are hoping that progressing to the knockout stage will generate more support for the sport.
Their work will be cut out in a group that also includes Italy, Sweden and South Africa, but Borgatello believes the mere presence of Argentina in the major tournament is an achievement in itself.
“The player is a different male. You say, ‘He’ll make it, since he has talent, he’ll do it.’ In women’s football, everything is more difficult,” she said. “So seeing them there is a source of pride.”
[ad_2]
