Stepping onto a pitch for the first time is something you never forget. Taking your first touches, nervously playing your first matches or getting to know your teammates. It’s a special feeling for those who love football.
Most children choose football from a very young age to play sport, to enjoy themselves and to make friends. And because of this passion, so many boys dream of becoming footballers and making it to the elite.
In the case of girls it’s more difficult, but it must be say that this is changing little by a little. The 23 Spanish players who are at the Women’s World Cup haven’t to be able to enjoy football with girls in their childhood.
None of them had any role models or knew that they could dream of playing football when they grew up. They all took their first kicks at the ball surrounded by boys. This is by no means a bad thing, but back then it was something that wasn’t seen as normal. It was just playing for the fun of it.
You could think: “I want to be like Messi or Cristiano. I want to win the Champions League. How are you going to be able to do the same as them if you had never seen a woman on TV playing and winning? That’s what I thought when I was little.
Maybe someone younger was lucky enough to see a ‘sneak peek’ YouTube video of some incredible play by a female footballer recorded in poor quality. One of the first ones I remember was Alexia in the 2013 cup final, where she was already being called ‘the Messi of women’s football’. They couldn’t compare her to any other woman, obviously.
I never dreamed of being a footballer. Neither Alexia Putellas. Nor Jenni Hermoso. Least of all Irene Paredes. The latter has already made history, playing in all three World Cups Spain has played in. They grew up without female role models, but they are becoming just that. They have carved out a path for themselves through hard work and overcoming every possible obstacle along the way.
And let’s not even talk about Vero Boquete, Natalia Pablos, Sonia Bermúdez… Spanish footballers who haven’t hesitated to speak out for change and who have suffered insults and humiliations in their environment along the way to fight to eradicate it. Their main objective was to achieve equality so that future generations could fight to have this: dreams.
Winning the Women’s World Cup means much more than a title:
This Sunday Spain will play the Women¡s World Cup final at 12:00 pm. What has been achieved is no coincidence. We have been saying for years that this is the best Spanish generation and that its potential was being wasted. This is clear proof of it.
We are missing some of the best players in the world and yet we are in the final against a great team like England. Whatever happens, we cannot settle for just that. We must continue to demand improvements so that this is not a matter of luck or something temporary.
I hope that this will help us move forward. That there will not have to be a players’ strike at the start of the league. That there will not be complaints for unpaid salaries or non-compliance with minimum wage contracts (even with ridiculous amounts). That they do not continue to take advantage of the players. That there is a solid structure. And above all, that we may speak only about football without having to constantly demand minimum rights. Spanish women’s football players have earned respect by speaking on the pitch.
This Women’s World Cup, regardless of the result, I celebrate the change reflected on the pitch and especially in the streets around the world. It is a source of pride to see how the matches make the front pages of newspapers or the headlines of the news. How the players sign autographs and take pictures. Or the excitement of the children when their idol gives them their jersey.
How nice it is to walk down the street and see that the name on the jersey is of a women’s football player. Or how the cities have set up giant screens all over Spain to experience this historic event. It has been proven that a woman can win the Ballon d’Or or the World Cup. Now soccer can actually be labeled as a profession for women. It is very special to be able to witness part of this change.
Spain are in the final and will compete for a historic trophy. And hopefully they will bring the star back to a country that seems to lose the excitement for football on many occasions. However, unconsciously, the national team has already won the biggest prize. Granting the license to dream to the girls who take their first touches on the grass.
The 23 players are already icons and history of women’s soccer. Without forgetting all those who fought for us to get here. Football never ceases to show that it has the power to change society.
Translated by Marcos Rodríguez.
Main image: @SEFutbolFem.
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