Spain wins the Women’s World Cup for the first time the champions defeated England by one goal Olga Carmona in the 29th minute, ending an already historic World Cup not only for multiple teams and players, but also for women’s football.
The final was played on August 20, 2023 between teams Spain and England 75,784 spectators at Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia.
The ‘Matildas’, as the Australian team is known, made history in their own country with the number of fans who attended their games.
During this World Cup 75,000 spectators were exceeded in four games: the final between England and Spain, the match between Australia and Ireland in the group stage, the semi-final between Australia and England and the round of 16 between Australia and Denmark.
In total 1.9 million people attended this World Cup a number well above the 500,000 expected by FIFA.
Historical selection
On December 5, 1921 they were in England Women banned from playing soccer professionally because their popularity had surpassed that of the men’s teams. It wasn’t until 1971 that the English were allowed back into the stadiums and Today they are Vice World Champion.
Colombia was that only Latin American country to progress through the group stage and although they lost to England in the quarter-finals, their participation was the best in the history of this selection. Although there is no national league, the Colombians defeated women’s soccer powerhouse Germany in the tournament, won the gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games and are runners-up in the Copa America.
Another Latin American team that made history was that of Panama. In the game against France Martha Cox scored one of the best goals of the tournament with a free kick 30 meters from goal and that First in a World Cup in his team’s history. The Pachuca player moved thousands of spectators to tears with that historic goal and filled her country with pride.
The selection of USA They were eliminated in the round of 16, which was totally unexpected for the team that has won four of the nine Women’s World Cups. megan rapinoe, As an icon of women’s football, she has already said goodbye to the team with which she won two World Cups and an Olympic gold medal. She is also an activist for women’s rights in sport and in the LGBT+ community He has leveled the field much more for the women who will follow him and that alone is an achievement for Americans.
Sweet and macho Mexico
The elephant in the room is the absence, for the second time in a row World Cup, Mexican team at the Women’s World Cup. Who have not qualified for the World Cup since the formation of Liga Mx Femenil in 2017.
The Mexican league has grown a lot since its inception, but “that doesn’t mean it’s producing talent,” he told us. Ana Paola Lopez Yrigoyen, former Liga Mx player for Pumas, Pachuca and Cruz Azul.
It appears that The more the league grows, the worse it is for the national team In part, this is because Mexican teams prioritized buying foreign players over training Mexican players, explained the political scientist, also in charge of ITAM former World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago in 2010.
In fact, the striker of the Spanish team, jenny Hernandez who scored three goals at this World Cup, plays for Tuzas del Pachuca.
Wage difference
One of the biggest challenges for women in football around the world is that precarious salary They live there, and Mexico is a clear example of that.
Serendipia Found this in Mexico A premier league soccer player earns an average of 7,463 pesos. while A male soccer player, also in first grade, earns an average of 666,949 pesos per month. Monthly wages for women soccer players are closer to the national minimum wage than for men.
“To earn a man’s monthly wage, a woman would have to work seven and a half years while a man earns in eight hours the average amount that a woman earns in a month,” the study said Serendipia in 2022.
Who has found this? Women’s salary is 1.2% of men’s salary, female audience is 10% of their salary. This means that while the women’s league is still much smaller than the men’s league, that doesn’t justify the low salaries they receive.
They also score more goals per season and receive fewer yellow cards than men.
In order to achieve their dream of becoming a professional soccer player, most soccer players are in the Liga Mx Femenil You must have other sources of income or financial support from your loved ones.
Injuries resulting from a lack of investment in women’s football
In women’s football, the issue is injuries it has become central. There is currently an epidemic cruciate ligament injuries among professional players.
just for that 25 of the best soccer players in the world were absent from the World Cup from this type of injury, including American Catalina Macario, Beth Mead and England captain Leah Williamson.
Women are seven times more likely to suffer a cruciate ligament rupture than men, says Andy Williamson, a surgeon specializing in this topic. But there is still a lot of information missing.
“The fact that it’s playing out like a pandemic and nothing has been done about it yet gives it away a bit Women are ultimately second rate They are assumed to be a short man if not. “Women who are considered second-class players also train in second-class conditions,” says Ana Paola López Yrigoyen, now a student at the FIFA Masters Degree in Sports Management.
Theories as to why this is so common are varied, ranging from the physiological composition of women until Disadvantages with which, in contrast to men, they come onto the field.
One of the big problems faced by many of these female athletes is that the demand has increased dramatically in a very short period of time as football has only recently become a rewarding career for women. Unlike the men who grew up in clubs from a young age, Women reach the leagues without as many years of training.
Another problem is that Everything in football is designed for men, and as women entered the sport, the team was only made small for them. All the Technology, investment and knowledge come from studies of men that ignore gender differences.
And finally the lack of access to quality medical services ends this injury in what could be a great career for many women.
In Mexico, soccer players complain that men are given priority over women on health issues and that low wages make it very difficult for them to consult even top-notch specialists.
The future of women’s football
The league in Mexico has grown a lot since its inception in 2017, but it’s not enough for the numbers to grow, the sporting quality of Mexicans must also grow. Football is still a business, but teams’ short-term investments are costing Mexicans dearly.
Every tournament, every league and every goal is a step forward in women’s football, but There is still a long way to go before we can talk about proper playing conditions and parity. This World Cup showed that women fill stadiums too, but lack of investigation There is a lack of medical care, there is a lack of adequate wages and, above all, society, clubs and associations have to invest significantly more in them.
