Fútnotes, Volume 37

Words matter.

It’s important speak clearly when talking about things, because the words you use carry weight. All of them matter. I’m guilty of this, letting my biases cloud the language I use more often than I’d either like to admit or realize.

It’s disheartening however to continually read descriptions of Liga MX Femenil (and other leagues outside of the United States and western Europe) as being “new” and “developing” because those words project a sense of inferiority to what are considered “more established” leagues. Beyond the inferences, it’s also incorrect from a factual standpoint, especially when taken into context against the leagues it’s often benchmarked against.

For a quick primer, Liga MX Femenil played its first season in 2017 with 16 teams, all of whom were fully professional. We can argue about salaries and what constitutes fair wages at another time, but the players received money for their labor. The following year, the league increased its size to 18 teams, the size it is at today. The league also has a U19 division, where teams field youth players for them to get minutes, allowing a clear path for these players to eventually join the first team in a professional capacity.

The Women’s Super League (WSL) in England, by comparison was started in 2011 with eight semi-professional clubs. Starting a mere six years before Liga MX Femenil, it didn’t go fully professional until the 2018-19 season and to this date only has 12 teams. There’s no youth league like Liga MX Femenil, however there is the Academy League, which is a U21 Academy league that has all sorts of teams, from WSL teams academies to academies for teams in lower divisions.

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States played its first season in 2013 with eight fully professional teams. The league has expanded to twelve teams this season, with three more confirmed on the horizon. There is however no youth structure, as clubs acquire players through the NCAA Draft.

There are certainly things to compare between leagues around the world. Discussions about league quality and how to measure that without structured continental club competitions for instance are absolutely fair. But I’d offer that most of the club competitions throughout the world are fairly new and the leagues are all still developing. There’s still a lot of ground to cover in every league throughout the world, whether it’s getting television rights squared away, meeting a standard facilities for teams, paying players a livable wage, and perhaps most importantly, rooting out graft, corruption, and the seemingly endless line of predators and abusers.

But these are things every women’s league in the world faces, regardless of if they’re six years new or ten years old. Liga MX Femenil has proven itself a top league in the world, whether its recruiting top players from abroad like Jenni Hermoso and Kheira Hamraoui, seeing players jump to other leagues like Mia Fishel and María Sánchez, or going toe-to-toe with NWSL and European clubs in friendlies and club mini-tournaments.

México

Congratulations to Katty Martínez, Liga MX Femenil’s all-time leading goalscorer. Katty Killer surpassed Desirée Monsiváis with two goals against Juárez to hit 127 all-time. Monsiváis and Pumas play later today against Necaxa, however. (Liga BBVA Femenil)

Rich Laverty conducted a great interview with Mila Martínez.

Mila and Tigres became the first team to clinch a spot in the Liguilla. (Liga BBVA Femenil)

An FMF inquiry found that referee Priscila Pérez Borja was not threatened with a gun by the president of Deportivo Zitácuaro last September, despite reports that she had been after refereeing a 3-1 loss for Zitácuaro. The Federation did however denounce that her credibility had been called into question. (FOX Sports México)

Daniela Carrandi and Julissa Dávila both marked their 150th game in Liga MX Femenil. (Atlético de San Luis)

San Luis also listed five players with injuries. Joana Robles and Luz Duarte are suffering from damaged cartilage (chondral injuries) in their right and left knees respectively, with Duarte also suffering from a ruptured meniscus. Marina Delgado suffered a stress fracture of the right tibia, Silvana González suffered a stress fracture of the left fibula, and Nicole Buenfil suffered a Grade 1 injury to her quadriceps. (Atlético de San Luis)

Viridiana Salazar and Karla Nieto celebrated their 200th game in Liga MX Femenil. (Tuzos)

Rayadas lost 1-0 in a midweek friendly against the Kansas City Current. (KC Current) Monterrey’s recap can be found here. (Rayadas)

Rayadas also helped celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with the Current while they were in Kansas City. (Rayadas)

FIFPro, the global footballers’ union, found that Charlyn Corral tied Guro Reiten, Ana Maria Crnogorčević, and Moeka Minami for playing 52 matches between September 15, 2022 and September 15, 2023, tying them for fifth most in the world. Stina Blackstenius played the most with 55. (FIFPro)

Corral and teammate Jenni Hermoso were listed as first and third leading goalscorers in the entire world by IFFHS. Corral scored 33 for club and country, Hermoso 28. Kiana Palacios, Christina Burkenroad, and Jaqueline Ovalle were also in the Top 10. (Tuzos)

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

Canada dropped a surprise pair of friendlies against Brazil on the calendar, hosting A Seleção in Montréal on October 28 and in Halifax on Halloween. (CBC)

Ameé Ruszkai published a great article on Mia Fishel and how she’ll fit with Sam Kerr at Chelsea. (Goal)

Stadium security at Parc des Princes forcibly removed fans who held up a banner during a Paris Saint-Germain Féminines game in support of Jenni Hermoso. (Alice Coffin via Twitter)

FIFA announced the dates for the 2024 U20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.

FIFA also announced the 2024 U17 Women’s World Cup would be in the Dominican Republic. (FIFA via Twitter)

Concacaf Women’s U17 Championship drew their groups. México is in Group A with Haiti, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. (Concacaf)

Adji Ndiaye started in goal for Senegal on September 25 against Mozambique, and then played as an attacker (and scored a goal!) with the Senegal U20s on October 7 against Guinea. (IFFHS)

Fiji has clinched a spot in the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. (Fiji Football Association via Twitter)

The Copa Libertadores Femenina has kicked off.

The games are (legally!) available in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, México, Paraguay, Perú, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Heather Mitts is working to bring a USL Super League team to Philadelphia. I can’t wait for this, and will be absolutely insufferable about it. Sorry in advance. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Jeff Kassouf wrote a good article about the lack of investment in VAR technology, especially adding cameras, in the NWSL. (ESPN)

Meg Linehan dives into what will be an important time for the NWSL as their media rights deal is expiring at the end of the year. (The Athletic, subscription required)

Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams reported that the NWSL struck a 4 year deal with four different media outlets. (Sportico)

Chicago Red Stars defender Casey Krueger opens up about becoming a mother and dealing with the loss of a miscarriage. (NWSL)

Jacob Cristobal, Susie Rantz, and Jeffrey Lageson of Sounder At Heart got to sit down with Megan Rapinoe one last time before what may have been her final home game with OL Reign. (Sounder At Heart, subscription required)

The NWSL set an attendance record as 34,130 came out to see Rapinoe’s last regular season home match in Seattle.

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].