AFP

Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, March 12, 2023, p. at 12

Paris. For some women’s soccer teams, the road to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (July 20-August 20) has been difficult and involved a tough struggle off the pitch. The French made themselves heard and caused the dismissal of the coach; The Spaniards are in the same situation: they want the departure of the helmsman, while the Canadians are fighting for a better budget.

Thursday the rebellion of several French footballers led to the departure of coach Corinne Deacon. And since the end of September, about fifteen Spanish players have left the national team, demanding the departure of coach Jorge Vilda, although without success for the moment.

In recent months, Canadian footballers have raised their voices to the point of threatening their Federation with a strike if they do not obtain an increase in budgets. Chairman Nick Bontis has resigned and a tentative agreement on national team funding was announced on Thursday.

Captain Christine Sinclair said she felt insulted like never before by Bontis because of this request for financial equality.

In this context, the Secretary General of the World Association of Footballers (FIFPro), Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, said: No player should have to sacrifice part of their career to get something they want..

There are other precedents: Norwegian Ada Hegerberg, the first women’s Ballon d’Or in history, withdrew from her team for five years after a disappointing Euro 2017, to protest against the inequalities between men and women in bonuses paid by his federation.

The United States women’s national team, led by former star scorer Carli Lloyd and more recently by Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, has lit its first fuse since 2016 by embarking on a long legal battle for equal pay.

The movements of insubordination in different teams raise questions four and a half months from the World Cup, especially since the broadcasting rights are not acquired in several countries, such as France or England.