Women Playing Football in Europe/Spain

Throughout European history, it was difficult for women to play the beautiful game of soccer because they were forbidden, as little girls, to play for clubs. Spain's women national football team has represented Spain in competitions since 1980. As time has gone by, the number of women in the football industry has grown. Although we see an increase of women playing on teams and in clubs, women involved in the football industry are continuously being criticized or dealing with sexist chants, and I should add that women at every level of the game are dealing with this. 

With that being said, Spain had a very controversial moment in women's football in which the president of RFEF, Luis Rubiables, kissed a Spanish player after Spain won the Women's World Cup highlighting the problem with machismo attitudes (Keeley). Even though this was sadly brushed off to the world, after some time, people have taken it as a lesson.

That particular event has not stopped girls from attempting to enter this career and persevere. Spain, as of now, has become one of the top European nations in the women's category. Their victory against England helped raise awareness to other girls in Spain to not feel afraid in taking the step to be involved in football and be like the women in that team representing their country. These female athletes are role models for little girls who dream of being a part of a football team. 

Nowadays, as things slowly start to progress, we see the slight rise of equality in pay for women's teams. Yet, the pay of various individual players in women's clubs are still not nearly as high as the pay for individual players in men's clubs. There still needs to be much more work done in finding equal pay for female football players, which is unfortunate, but I believe it could progress as more people begin to speak out and prove there worth in an industry that is always praising men and their accomplishments.

 

As a collective, the United States has set a mold to build up a foundation in which we support girls to pursue football. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a time and place that I experienced and was encouraged to play football. I had family members who were men and women who played for high ranked teams and clubs which allowed me to feel as if it was something anyone could do no matter the gender. Now that Spain has their own women's league and national team, it has become easier for women to step up and try out something almost seen as taboo. The world has become more accepting of women in the football industry, and with that, the world sees the many accomplishments, new investments, and opportunities that comes with women involvement in football. 

Considering my thoughts and explanations, what steps do you think can be taken for further empowerment of women in Europe and Spain in the sports industry? Keep in mind the historical challenges they have faced and the ongoing issues of sexism within the industry.

Keeley, G. (2023, September 1). More women play football in the Americas. But Europe is growing fast. Euronews. Retrieved February 21, 2024, from https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/09/01/more-women-play-football-in-the-americas-but-europe-is-growing-fast