Rebellion in women’s football

Australia and New Zealand is preparing to host, this year 2023, a world soccer woman which in the absence of months for its initiation became, in a certain way, the sparkle which ignited the vindictive spirit of players from different countries.

Nothing can stop it potential and the connection that women’s football has been experiencing in recent times and that is exactly why no team wants to stay in the caboose of the train, asking the members of many of them that their federations do not abandon them.

The revolt of ’15’

One of the first major critical movements in recent times took place in Spain after the last European Championship, where the national team fell in the quarterfinals despite being one of the favorites for the title. Months later, a total of fifteen players they asked cannot be called in the ranks to understand that they were not listened to in a series of demands that for them were key to the purpose of fighting for ambitious goals.

The coach didn’t call again Jorge Vilda, with the support of Luis Rubiales, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). Although it is not ruled out that before the start of the World Cup there will be a rapprochement between the two positions, the reality is that the Spanish team is moving forward in its preparation with a renewed squad as the countdown continues its course.

France changed coaches

Without leaving Europe; in France the choice experienced a real schismwhich resulted in the departure last Thursday of the coach Corinne Deaconafter captain Wendie Renard, and two prominent players, Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Kadidiatou Diani, announced on February 24 that they were retiring from their international careers.

The three, with the emblematic Renard in the first place, expressed their dissatisfaction with Diacre, increasingly questioned for his work methods and for his authoritarianism, which has led him to a series of dismissals since he took office (on August 30, 2017) by several disgruntled key players.

In addition, two loyal members of his technical team (the physical trainer and the goalkeeper) also leave the selectionsadly Deacon did not listen to their opinions and recommendations.

Until now, Diacre had the firm support of the president of the Federation, Noël Le Graët, but he resigned on February 28 amid accusations of sexual harassment and after several controversial disputes with his management. Four members of the Executive Committee of the French Federation assessed the situation and decided to do without Diacre facing the World Cup, where France makes its debut on July 23.

Canada is fighting for equality

On the other side of the Atlantic, members of the women’s soccer team from Canada For years they have been demanding that the country’s federation, Canada Soccer, their conditions are equal, both economic and sporting, with his colleagues on the men’s team. The conflict escalated in February, when they went on strike and refused to participate in the SheBelieves Cup held in the United States.

The internationals wanted that, in the face of the World Cup, the federal entity offered the team the same preparation he gave the men’s team for the World Cup in Qatar. In the end, the players had to play the SheBelieves Cup because of threats from the federation, but the labor conflict became a political issue in Canada.

On February 28, the then president of Canada Soccer, nick pregnant, resigned before the pressures of the provincial federations due to the conflict with the players of the two absolute selections. Bontis was replaced by Olympic medalist Charmaine Crooks, who when she took office on March 1 promised to make “real progress” for players on both the women’s and men’s teams.

In this sense, the federation proposed that the players of the same team receive the same fees in each match and share equally the prize money won in the competitions. According to Canada Soccer, with this agreement, the women’s team will become the second highest paid team in FIFA.

Peru brought the rebellion to South America

The movement has also reached South America. In Peru soccer team players raised their voices in the month of February to publicly question the management of the Peruvian Football Federation (FPF) and denounce the lack of support, after more than two months without a coach and without playing friends since November.

So, the goalkeeper of the red and white team, Mia Shalit criticized some resources allocated by the FPF to women’s football on their social networks: “They tell us that things have improved, that they give us the same side as the men. But, clearly the Under-17 and Under-twenty men receive more than the entire women’s program combined. More microcycles, more caliber training matches, and each group has an individual technical team. And the girls?”

Forward Alexandra Kimball and central defender Katarina Comesaña, among other players, joined the criticism against the federation that hinders the development of the king of sports among Peruvians.

“Every day our rivals work to strengthen and build the union of their exchange rooms. It’s sad to see how far Peru is of those groups. I expect more from our federation for 2023,” Kimball lamented on his Instagram account.

Due to the public complaints of the players, FPF sources told EFE that they will soon be named a new coaching staff and upcoming friends for the month of April.

Chile, against precariousness

In chilli On April 1, 2022, almost three weeks after his arrival in La Moneda, the president, Gabriel Boric announced a law to change the physiognomy and precariousness in women’s football which requires the professionalization of players within a maximum period of three years, to do so gradually, with the condition that in the first 50% of the squad will receive payment for the work of playing soccer and in the second 75 % do this .

The lucky few who do, They still won’t make a living from elite sport: Most of them receive only the national minimum wage, set at around 400,000 pesos (about $480) and must balance training, travel and games with other trades.

Currently, almost a year later, suspicions and different interpretations between the National Association of Professional Football (ANFP), the Labor Department and the players They keep the championship celebration on the airwhich should have started on the first weekend of March.

According to sources close to the ANFP told EFE, the fear is that they will be seen decisions that do not comply with Chilean labor lawwhich opens up the possibility of complaints being filed during the transfer of those players who do not have a contract but can show a regular link to the club.

Soccer players, for their part, understand this as a maneuver to further delay professionalization and because of that they get even more confused. In this context, teams train in an “eternal preseason” without knowing when the championship will begin.

“And here we are, another year, waiting for the same as before. The championship has no time to start, the last game was more than 3 months ago, and there is no fixture, no planning. After three months,” the Chilean international Daniela Pardo denounced a few days ago through his social networks.

“We want to qualify for World Cups, Olympic Games, win the Copa Libertadores, export more players abroad, but every year you have to publish things, demands. to please leave the bases, the dates of the matches”, pointed out the player of Santiago Morning, where everything “is very disrespectful”.

After all, this is the country of origin of one of the world stars of women’s football, Tiane Endler, goalkeeper of Lyon Olympics, Winner of the Champions League, awarded FIFA’s “The Best” award in 2022 and finalist this year, the national team is in a steep decline.

Neither he nor his teammates were in Australia and New Zealand after weeks ago the team lost Haiti and left the appointment in the repechage match, which he reached after being overtaken by good teams from the American continent, where women’s soccer is more advanced and attracts more interest in the stands, almost always semi-empty in national league.

The disappointment is too much that the coach, Jose Letelier, he had to resign and Endler threatened to leave the team if structural changes were not introduced to deal with an economic and sports crisis that, however, is transversal to all Chilean, men’s and women’s football.

Colombia and intimidation

Furthermore, in Colombia The long shadow of workplace harassment complaints continues to weigh on the Andean nation. One of the most famous cases happened when at the beginning of 2019 former soccer players Melissa Ortiz and Isabella Echeverri spoke publicly about it.

The latter then said that at one point the former coach of Colombia Philip Taborda there was a parallel call to the national team and that soccer players were obliged to enter lodging and meal expenses into the coach’s personal account each time they were called up.

just Echeverri, who announced his retirement in recent weeks, acknowledged on February 25 on Twitter that he was vetoed by the current coach, Nelson Abadía, who ensured that the defender was not called up to the national team again due to a process of renewal.

“I think it’s the first time she’s said my name in 2 years and I feel like it’s only because she can’t call me up anymore. I hope she pronounces herself that way from the other players who have earned at least one chance in the national team” , said Echeverri, who went through the Seville and Monterey.

Also in June 2020 didier lunaformer coach of the Colombian U17 women’s team, was sentenced by the 15th Circuit Court of Bogotá to pay a 28-month sentence, without imprisonment, for the crime of libel in a case of sexual harassment denounced by physiotherapist Carolina Rozo.

The physiotherapist and several players from the absolute soccer team and one from the sub’17 denounced workplace and sexual harassment inside the coffee complex, during the events that took place in 2018.