Cover of the book “Locas por el fútbol” (Today’s editions).
How important it is sometimes to look back to see how much progress has been made. Now that women’s football is advancing inexorably – with some 75,000 federation licenses in Spain – and its media presence growing by the day, Televisión Española will offer the World Cup, which begins on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand – and the names of the Stars, the signings and the sporting rivalries are already in the talks, it’s interesting to take a look at a not too distant past.
And it is that not so long ago this song was sung and heard as a joke, in which the singer wondered why her partner left her for football – both concepts presented as rivals – and the part of Mel llamas still made sense, song by José Luis Perales in which a woman said she was tired of “being stuck at home on football Sundays”. Not long ago, Teresa went to the area around Betis Stadium to watch the last ten minutes of the game – a door-opening tradition that is gradually disappearing – because her husband claimed football was a man’s thing. Taking the next step, going as another fan, cost him more than a domestic discussion. Not so long ago, Oviedista Montse Torre had to be pragmatic before becoming a fan. Since she could only go out on Sunday afternoons and lived 33 kilometers from her then-boyfriend, they saw each other at the stadium. He made her a partner. At first she didn’t pay much attention. He ended up participating in sports talk shows on the radio. Just like them, not so long ago, virtually all women came to football hand-in-hand with a man. From a father or grandfather. Or also due to family ties to managers, soccer players or coaches.
More than two decades after its publication, Locas por el fútbol (Today’s Issues) is a handbook that helps provide context for the development of women’s football and also the growing presence of women in stadium stands. Written in four hands by Eva Orúe and Sara Gutiérrez, it draws on dozens of interviews with some of the pioneers – journalists, referees, athletes, directors and fans – and provides many details that help explain the late inclusion of women in football and to understand the foundations The basis for this is the steady increase in women in all areas of current football. It also tries to answer a difficult question to explain: what does football have to attract people so much? Maybe it’s something as simple as what fan Sary Torre said: she’s been talking since her son gave her a membership card, and one day she realized that on a Sunday afternoon she didn’t want to be anywhere but at the stadium. . “I like it. In a word: I like it,” she summarized, wanting to express her passion.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes on Facebook and Twitteror sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.