Fútnotes, Volume 30

The 2023 Women’s World Cup is done, and it’s a bittersweet feeling. On a personal note, I immensely enjoyed being part of the Shea Butter FC watchalong group that broadcast 18 of the matches at all hours of the day and night. I missed just one match when straight-line winds blew down trees and knocked power out to my neighborhood for over a day, and I’m still mad at missing that one.

This World Cup was a triumph in so many ways. We saw an expanded field of competition prove that women’s soccer is so good in so many different places all over the world. We saw that investment and good coaching matter. We saw an old guard swept out by a new generation of hungry players. Players like Colombia’s Linda Caicedo, Spain’s Salma Paralluelo and Olga Carmona, Australia’s Mary Fowler, and England’s Lauren Hemp and Lauren James, all of whom are 23 or under and the future of this game.

While this tournament was one of highs, it was also one where it seemed like there were constant struggles and awful behavior on display. I’m not talking about the players either, the awful behavior all came from those in positions of power, ostensibly tasked to protect the players and help ensure their sole focus was on the game itself. (New Yorker) 

Instead, multiple federations were fighting with their players over payment issues. FIFA President Gianni Infantino refused to pay the players directly, instead funneling the money to the federations in hopes they’d do the right thing and pay the players the stated bonuses before he hopped on a plane to Tahiti before being shamed into returning.

Perhaps the worst was saved for last, when President of the English FA and future King of England Prince William declined to attend the match. The Spanish FA did, and perhaps it would have been better if they hadn’t. When Spain won the tournament, the players continued to ice out Head Coach Jorge Vilda as they had done all tournament. It was a tragicomedy watching Vilda trying to get in with the players to celebrate and none of them having anything at all to do with him.

Things took a darker turn on the podium when Spanish FA President Luis Rubiales, who installed Vilda as coach and refused to remove him despite players like Mapi Leon, Patricia Guijarro, Andrea Pereira, and Sandra Paños skipping or being omitted from participating in the tournament, was documented kissing Jenni Hermoso on the mouth. Afterward Hermoso said on an Instagram Live “Yeah, I did not enjoy that” before a male voice, presumably on the Spanish staff, asks if he used his tongue. (This thread compiled by Colin Millar of Mirror Football has the receipts.)

Later, footage from Salma Paralluelo’s Instagram live show Rubiales entering the dressing room, saying the FA will pay for a trip to Ibiza where he would marry Hermoso, and photos surfaced of Rubiales kissing Olga Carmona on the face.

Carmona would later find out that her father had passed away while she was playing in the Final.

These women don’t deserve this. These awful men should be as far away from women’s soccer as possible, yet I can’t help by be cynical. These things all too often are handwaved away, and it’s not far-fetched to see the Machiavellian suits at the RFEF pointing to the results to dismiss anything and everything.

If anything gives me hope however, it’s that these players are different than those from past generations who continue to crow about how the abuse was good, actually, because it made them stronger. They recognize abuses and call them out. The climate is also different, and outrage over these things has pushed even those once thought to be too powerful to be touchable out of positions of power and in some cases, legal jeopardy.

México

Cruz Azul’s Daniela Flores suffered a scary injury in Cruz Azul’s 4-0 loss to Club América. A press release said that she was “stable, out of danger, and under observation by specialists and club doctors.” Fuerza Dani! (Cruz Azul Femenil via Twitter)

Pachuca signed Nigeria center back Osinachi Ohale from Deportivo Alavés in Spain. (Pachuca Femenil)

Former Tigres forward Riley “La Güerita” Parker, who signed as a National Team Replacement Player with Racing Lousiville, was waived by the club and is now free to sign anywhere. (Racing Louisville)

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

I love Counter Pressed podcast. It’s provided me a good entry point into English women’s soccer, walking a great line between in-the-weeds tactical analysis while still not making me feel dumb for not knowing what club team (most) players play for. Hosts Flo Lloyd-Hughes and Jessy Parker-Humphries interviewed Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai and Khalida Popal on the current state of women’s soccer in Afghanistan, and it was just a wonderful interview.

One player I do know where they play for is Geyse Ferreira, who signed for Manchester United from Barcelona. (Manchester United)

The NWSL fined the Kansas City Current $55,000 for the use of charter flights. This is extra bad because the fine is more than the $50,000 teams were fined as a result of the NWSL/NWSLPA investigation into sexual harassment and abuse. Yikes! (The Athletic)

Speaking of Meg Linehan breaking news, it appears Laura Ricketts is leading a group of investors to buy the Chicago Red Stars. (Meg Linehan via Twitter)

Division I soccer started in the US this past week. The University of Delaware beat Syracuse 1-0 and then lost on the road to Liberty 1-0. Go to games, and support your local college team! (University of Delaware)

Speaking of, the University of Nevada - Las Vegas announced that they’ve secured NIL deals for every player on their women’s soccer team. (Friends of UNLV)

Alice Devine, Art Director for Tifo Football, put together a tournament diary of this World Cup, and it’s absolutely magnificent. (Alice Devine via Twitter)

SkyE from Shea Butter FC wrote a great article on leadership lessons from the World Cup that looks through the lens of faith. I’m not very religious, but I still found it a very good read. (Faith and Leadership)

Steph Yang wrote an great article about how Australia set a blueprint for future World Cup hosts to follow. (The Athletic)

Shireen Ahmed looks at Canada’s role in women’s soccer going forward. (Canadian Broadcasting Company)

More from the World Cup as Nike releases a rather patronizing word salad statement when called out for not having Mary Earps goalkeeper kits for sale, saying in part “The fact that there’s a conversation on this topic is testament to the continued passion and energy around the women’s game and we believe that’s encouraging.” (Natalie Pirks via Twitter)

Front Office Sports is a newsletter that focuses on the business side of sports, and they dove into some of the numbers around the World Cup. Things like 9 out of 10 televisions in Australia showing their match against England and the tournament generating almost $570 million in revenue show the power and growth of women’s soccer around the globe.

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].