Enthusiasm for women’s soccer

As in any market, the professional soccer job market should not be subject to discrimination of any kind: race, sexual preference or salary by gender. As data, a few years ago in the women’s professional league in the United States, soccer players demanded equal salary treatment to that of men, a basic principle of any labor market.

Soccer emerged with the idea that it was an exclusive sport for men. Although in “las cascaritas” infantile we accepted girls, machismo prevailed and we frequently made fun of them. It was unthinkable that there would be a women’s branch in the amateur children’s and youth leagues. Over time, it became more common for girls and adolescents to practice soccer naturally in schools and clubs.

FEMEXFUT was slow to react. It was not until 2016 that the professional Liga MX Femenil was created, with the first tournament being Apertura 2017. Currently the tenth tournament is being played, Apertura 2022. The league was born with some different rules than the men’s league. For example, the teams must have 21 players from the under 23 category, with four complementary elements under 17 years of age, and two from the free category. It was established at the beginning that they would all have to be of Mexican nationality, although as of May 2021 they can have two foreign players. In another advance, in 2021 the Liga MX Femenil Sub 17 was created. The integration rule of the two leagues is that they must be represented by the same 18 teams from the men’s league. It is these clubs that have the necessary infrastructure of stadiums, facilities, etc.

The Liga MX Femenil has had to fight for its space. For example, it was a triumph to get television media to broadcast the games. Unfortunately, the league is not exempt from abuse, misogynists or women themselves, as was the recent case of the technical director of the Under 20 team, Maribel Domínguez, who was removed from office along with her male coaching staff due to accusations of alleged abuse. sexual.

It is a fact that in Mexico the enthusiasm for the spectacle of women’s soccer is increasing. For example, in the Guardianes 2020 tournament, the league achieved more than 4 million viewers, 72% were male fans and 28% female (IBOPE data). Chivas del Guadalajara are the current champions, with their star, striker Licha Cervantes, two-time individual scoring champion. She is a talented player, as well as being a charismatic leader.

I like to watch the women’s league. The game is more fluid, the players go for everything, they privilege the game as a whole and in the matches there tend to be more goals than in the men’s league. The players make less theater than the men when fouled. They are an example of courage, bravery and competitive play.

What we do not have information about is their salary structure, surely their remuneration is well below that of men. So there is still a long way to go to eradicate gender wage discrimination in Mexican soccer. Hopefully we will see more activism along those lines without misogynist retaliation.

Twitter: @frubli