Having just watched Colombia upset France, 2-0, in Women's World Cup pool play, I'm interested in how women's soccer plays out across the world (to use a pun).
We could look at the upset by the "Cafeteras" ("Coffeemakers") as the number-18-ranked team in the world pulling off an unexpected win over the Goliath number-three-ranked team.
Another way to look at it is a female team from a developing country facing a team from a "First World" or developed nation.
My thoughts on this come partially from having lived and taught in Mexico City for a year, then working with Mexicans and other Latin Americans while reading about and absorbing Latino culture further over the past 40 years. I'm not an expert, but I have some insights and impressions that might be relevant.
From my experience in Mexico and with Mexicans, I know that the status of women in that country is much lower than it is here and in other Western countries. The machismo of men in Mexico gives them license to yell out catcalls and direct whistles to females as they drive by them on the street or see them in another setting. Pinching body parts is not uncommon. We in this country call this sexual harassment.
There has been some progress--and there is some substance, in my view, to the belief that the mother in the Mexican family is held up as the center and core of the of the family unit. But females in Latin countries are still second-class citizens by far compared to the West.
Which brings me back to Colombia vs. France. In a Latin American country like Colombia that has a huge proportion of poor people, as Mexico does, combined with a traditional culture that views the woman as more suited (and limited) to roles such as staying at home and child-bearing, opportunities for girls and young women to play soccer have to be way more limited than in France, the U.S., and other Western countries.
So, as I watch games the past week in the expanded World Cup in Canada--the largest and longest one ever held--I'm fascinated by the developed-vs.-developing country dynamic. Ecuador got blown out, 10-1, by Switzerland Fri., June 12. That could be expected through my lens of have/have not. Ecuadoreans probably have far fewer programs and opportunities in their country for girls to participate in youth soccer leagues.
Think of all the time and expense that goes into soccer moms and dads in our country ferrying their daughters (sons, as well) to and from practice and games. Incredible. My wife and I take our grandson to Mt. Acadia Park here in Clairemont to enjoy the play equipment. We see girls practicing softball, wearing the best in athletic shoe wear, using expensive bats and other equipment. Only the finest. Everything new. I'm sure it's the same with youth soccer, both girls and boys. There isn't that kind of expendable income in Ecuador, or Colombia (yet Colombia upset France).
Going along with this developed-vs. developing country narrative (my terminology fails me; we used to speak in terms of First World, Third World, etc.; or rich/poor) is the contrast between a developing country's men's team and its women's team. Ecuador may have a talented men's national team. I don't know. But that doesn't mean its women's team will be particularly competitive, and that can be explained by the view of girls and women in that culture (traditional). But, to their credit, the women of Ecuador qualified for the World Cup.
I wonder how good girls and young women in Iran are at playing soccer. Again, I don't know. With the Islamic Revolution in 1979, women had to go back behind the veil and assume more traditional roles. (My former dental hygienist fled Iran after Khomeini and his ilk took over. She is a professional who didn't want to stay under those conditions.)
In the West--the U.S., Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand--the role of the woman has exploded since the feminist movement beginning in the late 60's and flowering full-bore in the 70's. Title IX, which federally mandated equal opportunities for women in sports in college, was established in 1972.
Does any of what I'm saying make sense? I think it's fascinating. Three more weeks of World Cup to come.
Another issue in the World Cup is the playing of games on artificial turf. Surface temperatures on 80-degree days have been 130 degrees. That's a health hazard. Plus, why are the women relegated to playing on artificial turf, when the men play on natural grass? More corruption in FIFA? I don't know. I don't pretend to know much about that, other than what I'm reading in media reports.
Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
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