Fútnotes, Volume 21

Some weeks, we get tons of great news and stories coming out of women’s soccer. This week, it was a lot of bad things that need to be confronted or at minimum thought through in a manner seeking solutions. One such problem is our warming planet and how you can safely hold sporting events in hot climates.

Friend and colleague Susie Rantz of Sounder at Heart noted that OL Reign coach Laura Harvey said that Veronica Latsko collapsed after subbing off in stoppage time of their match in Houston against the Dash. The heat index (how hot it feels like with the air temperature and humidity) was 112 F (45 C) according to a pregame tweet from the club, which is absolutely inhumane.

The game however kicked off at 8:30 PM, long after the hottest part of the day where the air temperature reached 97 F (36 C). The question then becomes when can you safely host games in areas where temperatures reach unsafe levels even at night? Current markets like Houston, Orlando, and North Carolina have brutal summers, where temperatures and humidity make it unsafe for a lot of physical activity outdoors for a good portion of the year. Other places such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and Kansas City deal with intense heat, although (usually) with less humidity and for far fewer days of the year.

If even night games present as possibly being too dangerous to play, one has to consider moving games out of those areas during the hottest months of the year. This however would be anti-competitive, since teams would piece together long stretches of games at home to start the season and to end the season while being on the road during the middle, which would also force other teams in better areas to start and end the season with long road trips. The effect this would have on team momentum as well as morale could disrupt seasons and give teams an unfair advantage.

Another option would be to break during the summer, playing only during the months where temperatures are usually less dangerous. Of course, this too has issues, from most likely starting where the cold would be a safety concern in northern markets as well as match congestion issues since the league would not want to play fewer games (and make less money).

I truly don’t know what the answer is on this one. I think you could attempt to do something that combines some elements of these, knowing no one will be happy with the outcome. Perhaps a couple of weeks off during the hottest part of the year combined with playing more (but not all) games in places that avoid the worst parts of the year could work, but it doesn’t totally avoid these issues.

It might be easier to reverse climate change at this point.

México

Puebla rolled out their new campaign for this season #ElPueblaNoEsParaTi talking mostly about how difficult it can be to be a Puebla fan. But this one took a different (and very welcome) stand:

If you say women’s fútbol isn’t fútbol, Puebla is not for you.

Over the past year in the soccer calendar, Liga MX Femenil had three of the top ten first division goalscorers in the world. Jenni Hermoso was number one with 23 goals, ekeing out Chelsea’s Sam Kerr’s 22. Charlyn Corral tied Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly with 21, and Kiana Palacios tied Fortuna Sittard’s Tessa Wullaert, Levante’s Alba Redondo, and Manchester City’s Khadija “Bunny” Shaw with 19. (Liga MX Femenil)

Thank you for reading Golazo del Gringo! If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with anyone who enjoys women’s soccer.

Rest of the World

With about a month to go before the start of the 2023 World Cup, the Jamaica Football Federation is being called out by a letter from players alleging they “missed several official FIFA friendly matches” and haven’t been notified a camp is starting until “two to three days before the expected start” among other things. Do better, JFF.

Rich Laverty did a great writeup of the Jamaica situation on his Substack.

The Guardian took a look at Nike’s new cleats for women and wondered if they were actually designed for women or just another neat marketing ploy.

FIFA's first female and non-European Secretary General Fatma Samoura will step down at the end of the year. (FIFA.com)

Argentina’s Aldana Cometti gave an impassioned interview about the importance of Argentine media covering their campaign at the World Cup for visibility of women’s fútbol in the country.

Don’t ever let them tell you no one pays attention to women’s soccer.

If you have something that should be included in this segment, please reach out to me via twitter or email me at [email protected].