(www.si.com)
It's that time, folks; the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup! This time it is held in France, in various cities around the country. Did you know that the FIFA Women's World Cup is 28 years old? Time is surely flying! A little disclaimer though. I am going to say football a lot, not soccer. Even though I am currently living in the U.S where the majority says soccer, where I grew up (Trinidad and Tobago), we say football as with the rest of the world. So football stands. The event which occurs every four years started in China in 1991. However, if you want to count the unofficial events, it started even earlier. In 1970, the first international tournament took place in Italy, followed by Mexico, with Denmark defeating Mexico in the finals. In the mid-80s, the Mundialito (Spanish for Little World Cup) was also in Italy where Italy and England each won their titles. Coming to their senses I supposed, many countries have lifted the ban on women's football in the 70s, leading to the creation of women tournaments in hopes to promote the sport, particularly in Europe and North America. In 1975, the first women's tournament was held in Asia and in Europe in 1984.
Norwegian football player, Ellen Wille stated that she wanted better promotion of women's football from FIFA. To see if the tournament would be a success, FIFA created an invitational tournament in China in hopes of becoming successful and it did! As a result, the FIFA Women's World Cup was born and the official tournament was staged in China again in 1991. The tournament started with 12 teams, with the United States winning its first championship! The US went on to win 3 championships, followed by Germany (2), Japan (1) and Norway (1) (Wikipedia). Brazil, one of my favorite teams haven't won a championship but they are consistent in the tournament, just like their male counterparts. The tournament also created new stars such as Mia Hamm, Hope Solo, Brandi Chastain, Formiga and Marta among others.
Now the question needs to be asked, do people take this sport seriously? Keep in mind, this is a relatively new event, so it's going to take time to attract more viewers. Plus, there were many misogynistic statements concerning the sport, and then there are others who find the game so far, "boring." Honestly, there are going to have boring games and that includes the men's tournament as well. Just last year in the men's World Cup, I fell asleep watching some of the games. And then there's lack of support for women's football in some countries, particularly in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. What is surprising to me was Brazil, a country where football in life. Sadly, there is a lack of support for the women's team. Not to mention sexism and lack of support from the male players added to the mix.
North America and Europe have promoted the sport for women very well but even they have issues. The United States team, which won 3 championships has sued the US Soccer Federation for equal pay. Now keep in mind the women's team won 3 championships, while the men barely made it to the quarterfinals. It didn't even qualify for the men's World Cup last year. Yet the men are paid more than women and that includes bonuses!! Frankly, it should be the other way around, as the women really put in the work to achieve their goals. Another issue is, football in the US is a rather elitist sport as mostly white people played while black people and other POC are not really exposed to the sport unless they're children of immigrants. But slowly but surely it's changing. Some European players decided not to play in the World Cup because of this issue. The Jamaican team who made history as the first Caribbean nation to participate in the Women's World Cup, hardly get support from home, which is quite unfortunate but not surprising. If a woman is too athletic, she is deemed too manly and unattractive. Look at Serena Williams for instance. She is one of the best tennis players in the world, yet she is insulted on a regular basis because of her athleticism, deeming her too manly, not feminine enough and unattractive to the male (and even female) gaze. Also, culture and religion may play a role in lack of support. In Islamic countries, women are not allowed to play football because of dress, whereas the men especially from Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have qualified and played in the men's event last year.
Well, the good news is, the Women's World Cup has been gaining popularity over the years. In 2015, 750 million people watched the event in Canada (fifa.com) and this year there are already 9.38 million and it just started (sportsmedia.com). In some games, including the semi-finals and the finals, tickets are already sold out!! Countries such as Germany and Italy have professional football clubs for women in order to promote the sport and gain more viewers and sponsors. Yet, it has a long way to go. FIFA's prize money for women is $30 million, doubled from $15 million four years ago. Still, it's chump change compared to men, where the French team last year won $440 million. As women's World Cup gains more prominence, it's time for the rest of the world to step up and give the women the respect they deserved. They put in the hard work for the game they enjoyed, so why not give them the props they deserved? Last question, who's gonna win the CUP? The United States is the favorite but don't sleep on Germany or Italy and definitely not France! It would be cool though if the French team wins the World Cup just as their male counterparts have done last year!!
